My Immortal
by December.Twenty.Sixth
Summary: He's the Commander of the KG, she's a convict who works directly for the Baron. He thinks he's running the DWP, she actually is, things never go as smoothly as they should. Collab with GreyJedi. Rating may go up later on.
1. Prologue

Finally got into gear and started writing out this story. It's a collab with GreyJedi and we've been working on this for quite a while now. This could be viewed as a continuation of "Bloodlust," however it's not entirely necessary to read that one first.

Kaen, Cayden and Jance belong solely to us . Everyone else (so, Erol at the moment) belongs to Naughty Dog.

© .Sixth and GreyJedi, 2007  
No part of this work may be reproduced or copied without written permission of the authors.

* * *

The young woman leaned casually back against the wall, eyes fixed on a man across the room. She'd been posted by the Baron to survey the possible traitor, a desperate attempt to gather more information about the underground. Boring work, but it worked in her favour.

"Do this and I'll…let you out," Praxis had told her coldly; fully aware of the consequences of such a promise. If news got out that she had been let free, if the Haven City's favourite loony was allowed to walk the streets alone, there would be a public outcry. Perfect for anyone brave enough to attack Praxis. The city would be concentrating on her more than the Baron, as she was more of a controversy.

"More wine?" a passing waiter asked politely, gently removing a glass from his tray. She scowled.

"No." Honestly, why couldn't people just leave her alone?

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Jance slapped his little brother on the back, "Merry Christmas buddy!"

The younger man staggered forward for a few steps and barely avoided running into a table. "Thanks Jance," he muttered, glancing around warily. "You know, that girl over there's been staring at you for the past five minutes."

Jance looked across the room. "You'd be the one to notice that, wouldn't you Erol? You just can't stand the fact that for once _I've_ got the attention of a girl."

Erol rolled his eyes, "'Bout time. Hey, Jance?"

The older man slung his arm around Erol's shoulders, leaning on him, "What?"

"What was it you'd been wanting to talk to me about earlier?" Erol asked, giving his brother an irritated look.

Jance didn't reply immediately his dark eyes darted around the room. "Not here." He grabbed Erol's wrist and dragged the redhead over to a more secluded corner of the room.

Erol sighed, rolling his eyes, "Honestly, Jance, you think _this_ is more private?"

Jance shrugged before putting his hands on Erol's shoulders, "I'm only telling you this because you're my brother. I can't do this. I can't live under Praxis' rule and not do something about it. I've found a lot of people who share my view."

"Hang on, you can't mean what I thin-"

"Shush," the older man interrupted, pressing one of his fingers to Erol's lips. A passing waiter gave them a very odd, look. Jance didn't move his hand. "You know what I mean."

Erol pulled Jance's hand down, "The _resistance_?" he hissed, horrified.

"Yes."

"Jance, tell me you're kidding. Tell me this is a bad joke." The younger man practically pleaded. "You can't join the resistance. Do you have _any_ idea what they'll do to you if you get caught?"

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Don't worry? _Don't worry_?" Erol repeated, "How do you expect me to pull off _that_ stunt?!" He grabbed his brother by the shoulders, "You could get killed."

"And you won't? You're a Krimzon Guard, that's just asking for it."

"You're opposing the Guard, that's _suicide_!" Somehow Erol managed to keep his voice low, "I can't lose you. You're all I've got."

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The young woman stared wide-eyed at her target. He was in a relationship? With a man? He had a gay lover? Why hadn't anyone told her that Jance was into guys? WHY!?! Well, flirting was out of the question, which was all the better for her. The idea of flirting with a guy like Jance disgusted her, as it did with every guy. "Thank god," she murmured, "I'm saved."

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Jance blinked, "How do you figure that?" suddenly he smiled, "You realize, _if_ anyone was listening in on this, they'd come to the conclusion that we were in a relationship. And my secret would be out." He gave Erol a concerned look, "But I don't get what you mean."

"Honestly," Erol rolled his eyes, "You've got Dad, and his wife, and their kids. I don't."

"Sure you do."

"You weren't disowned by your father for choices _you_ made. At least you have someone who _cares_."

Jance looked at him, "You know I care."

Erol sighed, "Which brings us back to the root of the issue, if I lose you," he trailed off.

"I keep telling you, that's not going to happen."

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She felt the bile rise in her throat. "Oh lord, oh lord, oh lord…THIS IS DISGUSTING!!!!" she mentally screamed while trying to keep from throwing up. It was warped, crazy, unnatural and just plain wrong. If they were married, which seemed to be the case, that meant…

Her stomach churned again as mental images danced in her head. "Not cool," she muttered, glaring at the bizarre couple. "That is so not cool." A particularly vivid image of the pair kissing floated around in her mind, causing her to twitch violently.

"Are you alright Miss?" a nearby waiter asked, obviously concerned.

"Honestly? No," she told him bluntly. "But I'll have some wine, if you've got any left."

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Jance slid his hand from Erol's shoulder, down his brother's arm. "It'll be okay, I promise."

"Yeah, fine, sure." Erol looked over his shoulder, "I'm going to go socialize; you can't keep me all to yourself."

Before Erol could leave, Jance pulled his brother closer to him and gave him a quick hug around the shoulders.

Erol gave the older man a confused look, "What the heck was that for?" he whispered, leaning close to his brother's ear.

Jance smiled, "Just cause I love you." He whispered back.

Erol's eyes widened, "Right…I'm going now. I think all this 'resistance' stuff has gone to your head." He pulled away from his brother and walked away to talk to other people.

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"I cannot believe what I just saw," the young woman mumbled, shoulders shaking from shock. "They totally just kissed each other on the neck…EWW!" The last part was a tad bit louder, causing random passers-by to stare. "What are you looking at?" she snarled, making a few Guards leap away in shock. She grinned. Parties were fun if you stayed out of the way and watched…except, it seemed, in this case, which was just disturbing.

"How could he be gay?" the woman groaned, flesh crawling. She would so get Praxis for this.

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Jance stood watching his brother wander off into to the crowd of people. He shook his head, suddenly feeling very guilty over the compromised position he'd just stuck Erol in. He suddenly became very aware of a feeling like he was being watched, closely. He twitched.

His dark eyes cast about suspiciously as he tried to tell himself it was just paranoia. The feeling didn't go away. He glanced at Erol again, who was now standing next to Torn by the punch bowl seemingly engrossed in conversation. Jance felt the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably and spun around. That was when he saw her. The girl Erol had pointed out earlier, she hadn't moved from her spot and her eyes were fixed on him. She looked disgusted. Jance felt at a loss, what was he supposed to do, go over and ask what her problem was? No, that was more how Erol would have handled the situation. Should he just turn around and walk away? He couldn't do that either, not while she stared at him with such fixation, it would be impossible to pretend she wasn't there. A confrontation was inevitable.

Jance reached out and snagged a glass of wine off of a passing waiter's tray before taking a sip of his drink and beginning to walk towards the woman against the wall.

Her expression grew more and more bewildered and frightened as he approached.

He took a steadying breath, not entirely sure what to expect. He opened conversation with a simple, "Hello."

"Ummm," she said, giving him a 'what-the-hell' look. "Hey?"

He extended a hand, "I'm Jance," he said calmly, deciding to try and just be civil for the time being.

Biting her bottom lip, the woman tentatively extended her hand to take his. "Kaen," she said, voice suddenly cold.

"Charmed," Jance replied, giving her hand a quick shake. He attempted to get a quick gage on her personality, but it was difficult with so little to go off of. "Who are you with?" He asked, flicking his head towards the center of the room.

"Myself, thank god. I'm in the Guard, so I sort of have to come."

He raised an eyebrow, "Really? I never would have guessed. How come you're lacking the ink?"

"Let's just say," she smirked, "I'm not exactly legit." With a sigh, she added, "I'm Black Ops."

Jance smirked, "Fun. So you do what exactly, spy on people and then break into their houses to steal them in the middle of the night?"

"Not me. I work with the people MY people bring in to the detention center," she shrugged. "What can I say? I'm not into field work."

"I see. For some reason, I'm not particularly surprised," Jance paused and took a sip of his wine. "You can probably tell, I'm not in the Guard."

"Obviously, since you have no tattoos and you don't work for me. So who are you here with? I saw you with that guy earlier..." she stopped suddenly and made an odd face. Then, as if she could hold it back no longer, Kaen blurted out, "Are you two dating?"

Jance choked, "What?!" He shuddered, "Hell no," another shudder, "Don't be sick."

She raised her hands up defensively. "From where I'm standing, it looked like you two kissed, so don't judge me. It was warping enough."

"Eww. God..." Jance pulled a face. "I love him, but, eww... I guess that explains the weird look you were giving us."

"Not my fault you two made it look like all you wanted to do was make out! And how can you...how..." she hung her head. "I'm confused."

"Incestuous much? That's about the last thing I'd want to do with Erol," he paused, "How can I what?"

"Oh, you're brothers?" she asked, sidestepping the question. "You look nothing alike."

Jance nodded, "Yes. He's my little brother." He smiled, "I know we look nothing alike, I think it's part of the reason our dad hates him. Not that our other two siblings have much resemblance to either of us, I suppose that's only to be expected when it's a second wife," he shrugged, "Oh well."

"Your brother's hair irritates me."

"Nothing I can do about that," Jance said before quietly adding, "He's got Mom's hair."

She seemed to have not caught the last statement. "It's orange. I hate orange."

"That's not my fault. Do you want me to go tell him you hate the way he's genetically coded?"

"Go for it. Maybe it'll prepare him for the day I shave his head while he sleeps." She smiled a fairly genuine smile. "You two close?"

Jance smiled back, "Very," he sighed, suddenly sombre, "I'm all he's got."

"At least he's got someone," Kaen commented, eyes alighting with a dark flame. This was obviously a tender spot. "He should count himself lucky."

Jance looked at her, "I'm sorry about that. I can't begin to imagine."

"It's nothing. Not anymore." Despite her words, Kaen's body was as rigid as a board. "My family is history and the world is better for it." she leaned back against the wall. "I hate Christmas. Too much love and cheer."

"I like it. But it does tend to bring back memories I'd rather forget, though I somehow doubt that I've got anything on yours." Jance looked across the room at his brother, "It doesn't show, but it really gets Erol too."

"If you don't mind me asking, why? What happened?" Her face showed true concern.

"It's not really mine to tell, but you'd never get it out of him," Jance flicked his head at his brother. "He was eight, I was twelve, Dad had taken me out for," his brow furrowed in concentration, "I don't remember why, I just know we weren't home." He stopped, attempting to compose himself; it was obviously a sensitive topic for him as well.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'm not going to force it out of you," Kaen kept her voice soft and gentle. "I don't want to make this harder than it is."

"Nah, I don't really mind, I'm just used to sidestepping it all the time, that's all," it obviously wasn't, but Jance continued anyway. "No eight-year-old should ever have to see that. While we were out a man broke in. He went after our mom. Violated her; then killed her. Erol saw the whole thing." Jance shook his head, "I don't think he's ever gotten over it."

Something dark and very sinister flashed behind her eyes. "I can imagine not." With a casual tone, she asked, "Did the man who did it get caught?"

Jance shook his head.

"That's too bad. I hate it when people escape justice." She took a sip of wine. "But it happens a lot, now that we're under a new government. Don't you agree?"

"The old government was better. This one feels," he hesitated, searching for the correct term, "Wrong, like a black mark on society. Damas was the best ruler I can remember this place ever having."

"So you don't like Praxis? Too harsh? Not harsh enough?"

"Too harsh. He's running a dictatorship; no one's free to think for themselves and the way everyone in the Guard is treated," Jance paused again, "He seems to be under the impression Krimzon Guards are a disposable resource."

"Oh, they mostly are. They bring it upon themselves. You seem to have enough common sense to stay out of the whole thing," she grinned, "Unless, of course, you're fighting against the Baron or something like that..."

He smiled nervously, "I'd prefer to keep my nose out of the power struggle."

Kaen raised an eyebrow, "You're not a bystander. I could tell that a mile away. You must have some part to play in all of this." She paused. "You can tell me. I'm not going to rat you out."

"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked sceptically.

"You can't," she said simply. "I can't even trust me. But, I hate Praxis. If someone is working to hurt him, chances are that I'll like them. Plus," she smirked, "Being my friend could ensure the safety of others." With those last few words, Kaen looked pointedly at where Erol was standing.

Jance felt his blood run cold, something felt very wrong about this situation. He inhaled sharply, "Lets say, theoretically, I'm going to join the underground, how much of a chance would you say they have against Praxis?"

"With help, quite good. Praxis is weak - I should know. If they could find only one insider with lots of power, they'd win this war."

Jance's gaze drifted towards Erol's general direction again. "You really think so?" He looked at Kaen again, "Let me put it this way, the resistance isn't completely out of the question for me."

"Well I could've told you that," she sighed, "So are you part of the resistance or not? 'Out of the question' doesn't really tell me all that much."

Jance sighed, "Yeah, I'm part of it," he looked away.

She smiled, a strangely cold smile, "Well that's interesting," she stopped leaning against the wall and set her glass down on the nearest level surface.

A shiver ran up Jance's spine, every danger sense in his body was going off. This felt very, very wrong. He was beginning to regret telling her that he was an actual part of the underground, and he was starting to get the sense that he'd just made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

"Well, I gotta go." She smiled at him. "I'll see you later, Jance. I'll see you soon." And with that, the woman departed.

He watched her leave, rooted to the spot, unable to move. Petrified. The wine glass slipped from his fingers and smashed to the floor.

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Jance walked quickly through the door, slamming it shut behind him. He spun around to lock the deadbolt.

"Jance?" someone said behind him.

He spun around, eyes terrified. He let out a relieved sigh, it was just his father.

"Jance, I thought you were going to be a lot later."

"Yeah, I thought so, too. Is the back door locked?"

His father raised an eyebrow at his eldest son, "Not yet, why?"

"Um, no reason," Jance swallowed nervously.

"So, how was the party?"

Jance's eyes darted around the room, "Not bad. Where's everyone else?" he asked.

"They're all in bed; I was just locking up when you came back,"

Jance nodded absently, "I see."

"What's wrong? You're not acting like yourself."

Jance gave his father a wide-eyed look of fear, "Strange, I don't really feel like myself either."I, I'll finish locking up, you can go to bed if you want."

"Well, alright, see you in the morning Jance."

Jance watched his father walk away, before going to lock every door and window he knew of. He even went to the extreme of quietly slipping into his siblings' rooms and locking their windows as well. He slunk into his room last, eyes searching for anything that could have been out of place. He found nothing and began to change out of his formal clothes. As he lay down on his bed, Jance couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

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Kaen smiled darkly from her seat in the detention center. Beside her was a radio, which was giving her regular updates of her squad's position. They had already arrived at the house.

"Miss?" the radio squawked, "Permission to enter the premises?"

Kaen pressed a button lazily. "Go for it," she said, amused. Everything had worked out so well. In a moment, one single moment, the traitor would be knocked out and on his way to her.

Loud footsteps broke the silence of the street as the Black Ops members circled the house and got into position, which meant all exits were covered. Two others took out some complicated instruments and inserted a few into the deadbolt lock. After a few twists, the door popped open.

"We're in," one of the men hissed, hurriedly stashing the lock picks away. "Come on, let's get the perp. Miss Kaen hates to be kept waiting."

Beckoning at his partner, the man entered the dark house. The other Guards just stood patiently, sharp eyes searching for any sign of life or light that could endanger the operation.

"Coming," the second man said, following his friend inside. "Let's do this."

Silently the pair made their way up a flight of stairs, making a beeline towards a particular door. Before leaving base, the Ops had pinpointed the exact location of Jance's room, planning every step perfectly. The transmitter Kaen had attached to Jance's hand when they had shook hands had helped too.

The leader made it to the door first. Making no noise at all, the man opened the last barrier between him and the perp that was wanted so badly by his employer. And there he was, lying perfectly still on his bed. "Excellent."

The second man entered the room, now sure that the coast was clear. In his hand he held a black bag that would be used to cover the man's head as he was taken away. "He asleep?" the man whispered, leaning over the bed, face about three inches away from Jance's. "This could be difficult if he wakes up."

"Just do it!" his leader snarled. "We don't have time to be paranoid." His voice had an effect similar to that of a whip. In a moment the man had the bag ready to go and was about to throw it over the perp's head when Jance woke up.

Jance screamed, lashing out at the second in command. The back of his hand connected with the side of the man's face. He rolled quickly out of bed, feeling around on his bedside table for anything that could be used as a weapon.

"Shoot him!" the first commanded. "But don't kill him! Kaen needs the scum alive!" When his partner did nothing, he whipped out his own gun. "Stop and shut up! Don't make me kill you!" He knew that he'd already said that they couldn't kill Jance, but it was the first threat that came to mind.

Jance smirked, he wasn't stupid, if they needed him alive that gave him an advantage, if a somewhat small one. "Like hell!" Jance shouted at the man. Suddenly the reality of what the man had said sunk in, 'Kaen needs the scum alive.' She'd told, she'd been planning it all along. He froze.

Taking advantage of the sudden pause, the second in command threw the bag over Jance's head. "Gotcha!"

Without warning, a voice crackled over the man's radio, cold but pleased, "Finally. What took you all so long?"

"You!" Jance shouted, his voice muffled, "I should have known better than to believe anything you said!" He jerked, trying to free himself from the second guard. "Where is she?!" he demanded.

It was Kaen who responded, "In the detention center, waiting for you." She laughed. "I warned you not to trust me, but love got in the way. Dear old Erol, how will he react once he finds you dead?"

Jance stopped, struggling, had anyone been able to see his face they would have seen the hopeless and mortified expression on his face. "Erol," he murmured. "Oh god. I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Fool," the woman's voice was icy and hateful. "Family is a waste of time. Now, I think it's time that you and I had a little talk. Cayden? Bring him."

The leader nodded at the voice and slammed his hand on Jance's head, knocking him out instantly.

"Let's go. Hurry up." He then turned and silently departed, his second only a few paces behind him, dragging Jance's unconscious body.


	2. Chapter One

Like I said before, finally got into gear and started writing out this story. It's a collab with GreyJedi and we've been working on this for quite a while now. This could be viewed as a continuation of "Bloodlust," however it's not entirely necessary to read that one first.

Kaen, Cayden and Jance belong solely to us . The knives, when they come more into the story, belong solely to me. Everyone and everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

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_Five years later_

Erol wandered nonchalantly down the hallway. He had nowhere to be, and nothing to do. Quick footsteps sounded behind him and a female voice shouted out to him.

"Commander!"

He turned around looking bored and crossed his arms over his chest saying a rather irritable, "What?"

It was Ashelin, smirking wider than Erol had ever seen before. "Father's sent me with a message. It's urgent."

"Really?" For some reason, he doubted it, things were rarely urgent. "And this would be?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Father has assigned you to work on a 'special' project with Kaen," Ashelin replied, looking very much like she knew something Erol didn't.

For a moment Erol said nothing, his brain kept trying to make sure he had heard and understood Ashelin correctly. "I'm working with _who_?"

Ashelin said nothing for a moment, giving Erol a teasing grin, "Kaen. I would have thought you'd know who-"

"I know who Kaen is!" Erol snapped, cutting Ashelin off abruptly. "I don't get it though, _why_ am I working with a convict?"

Ashelin shrugged, "Father said it was a very special and important project, and he can't afford any screw-ups," a sly expression flickered over the female guard's features for a brief second. "So why he put you in charge-" she was interrupted for a second time.

"Enough with the smart comments just tell me where I've got to go meet this new 'partner' of mine," the commander said, making air quotes around the word partner.

"The detention center,"

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? You're actually capable of giving your commander information without being smart," Erol smirked, giving Ashelin a condescending look.

She glared at him, "You will _never_ be my commander Erol, _never_. I take orders from just one person,"

"And would that be your father, or someone else? I seem to remember a certain brown-haired deserter by the name of Torn," he stopped there, enjoying the sight of the woman in front of him bristling with anger. She raised a finger threateningly to him, as though daring him to go further. Erol was never one to back down from any kind of challenge, "Yes, that's what I thought. You're rather on the fence aren't you? What's the matter Ashelin, traitor got your tongue?" Erol found that his words had quite the desired effect; Ashelin spun angrily on her heel and began to walk stiffly away, obviously seething. The commander turned calmly back around, and paused before beginning to head off in the direction of the detention center muttering "A convict in the detention center, how very original."

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Kaen ran her fingers through her hair, glaring spitefully at the calikite knife lying on the table. The knife hadn't done anything wrong – no surprise there – but it was a perfectly convenient scapegoat for her frustration. Only a few hours ago had she received a message from the Baron telling her that she would soon have a new 'co-worker', though it was obvious she didn't need one. From what the message said, the man would be taking over the entire operation. Or so they thought.

"If Praxis thinks for a minute that he can just go and replace me without so much as a fight, he's lost it," Kaen snapped at the knife. "I don't care if this mystery guy turns out to be the Commander himself! I run the Dark Warrior Program – always have and always will!" She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Although I do have to give the man credit for trying to ruin my life. I didn't think he had it in him, pathetic wimp that he is."

The knife stayed silent, as knives tend to do. Still, Kaen paused to see the blade's reaction to her ranting. Of course she knew it wouldn't answer, but it was nice to hope for response. The whole situation scared her. Losing her job as head of the Dark Warrior Program would be nothing less than a blow to the gut. Listening to tortured screams helped chase away memories preferably forgotten.

She absently scratched at the back of her hand, razor sharp calikite nails digging into her flesh. Drops of blood slid downwards, leaving little red rivers in their wake. "Damn," she swore, placing the cuts to her lips and sucking the wound clean, trying to keep the liquid from flowing too far down her arm. Blood didn't usually trouble her, but if so much as a drop touched her actual flesh…

A banging sound filled the small room, amplified ten fold by the metal walls. Someone had come to call, which Kaen knew to never be a good sign. Muttering several more curse words, she crossed the room to face her supposed successor.

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Erol hadn't expected this. Hadn't prepared himself for the door to be opened by a woman, most likely a few years younger than him, a woman sucking blood off the back of her hand. It hadn't crossed his mind that the mysterious 'Kaen' might not have actually been the male thug he was expecting. Perhaps he'd gotten the wrong cell…

"Who the hell are you?" the woman snapped, still sucking at the wound. "And what do you want?"

Erol felt slightly taken aback by the greeting, it was definitely not something he was used to. "I'm looking for Kaen," he said, sneering as he said the name.

"No duh," she said, rolling her eyes. "If you were looking for anyone else you wouldn't be here." She peered over his shoulder. "So where's my replacement?"

"Are you referring to the Dark Warrior Program?" Erol asked, hoping that this woman might know what he was talking about, "That's why I'm here."

"_No_," she said sarcastically, "I have no idea what the Dark Warrior Program is. I only _run_ the thing."

"So, I'm guessing _you're _Kaen then?" Erol asked in a rather offhand manner.

"That would be correct. Which brings me to the question, who are you? It'll be hard working together if I can only call you 'You' or 'Idiot' or 'Moron' or whatever." She smirked. "I have so far found people react better to their actual name."

Erol rolled his eyes. The woman was insufferable already.

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Kaen felt her blood begin to boil. What was this man's problem? Was it that hard to answer the question of 'what's your name'? But he posed no physical threat – he was one of the skinniest, wimpiest people Kaen was sure she had ever seen. One quick stab would do the job, should he grow too tiresome.

"Planning on answering my question?"

He sighed, "Erol."

Pathetic name too. "Very nice." Her face hardened. "But enough pleasantries. It's time to get down to business.

"First off, no matter what the Baron says, I still control this operation. The Dark Warrior Program is obviously out of your league. Second," Kaen stepped forward and whipped out a knife, which she placed delicately to Erol's throat, "if I do not like you, I will kill you. Got it?"

He gave her a bored look, "Good for you."

Her eyes narrowed, "Don't make me do it sooner rather than later, you'll probably serve a purpose in the end."

"Not to mention you'll be locked back up for a very long time. People who kill the commander of the Krimzon Guard tend to have that happen to them."

"Commander?"

He rolled his eyes, "You didn't honestly think I was just some low level officer, did you?"

"Pathetic enough to be."

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Erol clenched his teeth, Kaen was defiantly trying his patience. "Why don't you fill me in on this 'project' of yours?" he said, phrasing it like a question, but making sure it was anything but.

Kaen smirked, "Alrighty then, let's see how competent the commander of the Krimzon Guard _truly_ is."

Erol twitched.

She sheathed her knife and beckoned him to follow her, "Come on then."

He hesitated for a split second before following her into the cell, "Cozy." He commented blandly.

She nodded, "Been my home since I was twelve. A nice change from my original."

Erol stopped and raised an eyebrow, wondering what in the world she could be talking about. In his experience, most prisoners hated and resented their cells; her behaviour was odd to say the least.

She smiled at him, "You haven't read my files, have you?"

He smirked, "Haven't had the chance," he replied, making a mental note to do so once he got off duty.

"So, here's the blueprints for the machine, but you'll probably find them useless. Mostly, it's just pressing a big button," she paused then added, "Oh, and listening to the prisoners scream."

Erol nodded vaguely, "I can do that, quite easily."

She clapped sarcastically, "Good for you, you obviously graduated from kindergarten."

He rolled his eyes, "Something about you suggests that you didn't."

She inspected her nails, "Never had the chance, too busy being tortured."

He _almost _felt sorry for her. Almost. And he had to fight against the sudden urge to leave and go read her files regardless of what he was supposed to be doing.

There was a long awkward silence.

After about five minutes Kaen finally said, "If you don't mind, I'd like if you'd leave." She shoved Erol roughly out the door. "See you tomorrow."

"Stupid woman," Erol muttered as he turned to leave.

"Takes one to know one," she snapped back, slamming the door.

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Once alone again, Kaen turned back to her knife. It was still sitting there, quiet, and unmoving. For some reason, she had a sudden desire to chuck it at the wall, but she suppressed the urge. Instead she amused herself with images of murdering the commander.

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Erol closed the door to his quarters, locking it behind him. He shivered once, adjusting to the sudden temperature drop, before walking over to his computer and opening up a search of the KG database. He typed in 'Kean' and got no results. Scowling at the monitor, he reversed the 'a' and the 'e'. One file popped up. It was a high security file, requiring the highest clearance level. Erol of course had that. Typing in his access code and password, he waited for the file to load. It took forever. Two hundred and thirty-three pages, with one more security login on the last twenty-five, later, he had it. The complete file consisted of one hundred and thirty-three pages of the actual report with the remaining hundred all high quality photos. He opened the first page of the report. This was going to take a _really_ long time.

Two hours later he finally got to the first page of the high security images. He was already in shock. How could a twelve year old have so brutally massacred her own family? The last twenty-five photos were of the victims. He was almost afraid to look. Erol scrolled down slowly, not completely sure what to expect. First was Kaen, soaked in blood, screaming and clawing at her arms. She was followed by her two younger brothers, both aged three; two unrecognizable bloody masses slumped against the wall. Her mother was next, as mutilated as her two sons. And last, last was Kaen's father, Faine. Erol stared at the face of the man soaking in his own blood, his features perfectly preserved.

"It's like she wanted the focus on him," Erol muttered, zooming in closer on the picture. He froze. He knew that face. Erol's expression became a twisted snarl and he hurriedly closed all of the windows he'd opened.

He stood up as the computer powered down, he knew he'd have to confront her about his findings tomorrow.


	3. Chapter Two

Like I said before, finally got into gear and started writing out this story. It's a collab with GreyJedi and we've been working on this for quite a while now. This could be viewed as a continuation of "Bloodlust," however it's not entirely necessary to read that one first. WARNING: Graphic Content

Kaen, Cayden (Not that he shows up in this chapter) and Jance belong solely to us .

* * *

"It would've been interesting," Kaen told the mirror as she fixed her hair into its customary bun, "to see that pathetic excuse for a commander's face when he read that report. His codes would allow him to access the victim photos." She smirked, recollecting the photographer's horrified look as he snapped shot after shot of the scene. He'd had rushed to the bathroom to puke the moment they let him – Kaen could still vividly recall the man's retching sounds as she was dragged away. It had amused her at the time, but now it was locked away like so many other her other memories.

For some reason, every time her mind drifted towards the past (an increasingly frequent phenomena) it would come hand in hand with her recent confrontation with Erol. Strange, since he had no apparent connection to her family. Maybe it was because his action had greatly reflected her father Faine's: pathetic and pompous. "Bet he's never faced a harder decision than 'what should I wear today'," Kaen muttered, glaring at her reflection. "Bet he'd be willing to make a monster out his own child if it served his own purposes." Her blood boiled at the very thought.

Her monster, in theory anyway, was the side effect of being tortured with dark eco. It had taken control of her the night she had slaughtered her family. Kaen couldn't restrain it on her own, which meant that she had to pop two pills twice a day in hopes of suppressing it. If she even forgot one day, one single day, she would lose it and most likely get herself thrown back in actual jail, instead of her present quarantine.

"Not if I can help it, though," she said with a hint of mischief. "If the commander is attacked, they'll go to him first. Maybe I can get out of this place and back home." With a laugh, Kaen turned on her heel and headed towards the door. "Maybe one of these days I should 'accidentally' skip my medication. See how dear old Erol would deal with that."

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Erol walked slowly into the detention center, glancing around to see if Kaen was there. She was in her cell, the door slightly ajar. He approached her warily, as one might approach a rabid metalhead grunt, "So," he began, his tone conversational, "What do we do today?"

She smiled at him, "Wouldn't you like to know."

He smirked, "I would."

"Still willing to work with the freak? I'd thought that looking at those photos would've scared you off for good." She shrugged, "I guess I'm just not that lucky."

Erol clenched his teeth briefly, "I don't believe in luck."

Kaen laughed, "In all honesty, neither do I."

"So," Erol grimaced, unused to this woman, "What are we doing? I've got a growing pile of paperwork that I could probably spend my time more efficiently on, rather than staying here with you."

"Well, we could kill people, but that sounds unappealing at the moment."

"It also sounds like more paperwork for me. So, we're not doing anything, is that what you're saying?"

"Not really," Kaen shrugged. "I just don't want to do anything with you."

"The feeling's mutual, trust me," Erol snarled. Kaen was wasting his time.

Kaen smiled. "I'm bored."

"Good for you," Erol rolled his eyes. "What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Entertain me if you can. If that's beyond your abilities, which I don't doubt, get out of here. Now…or else."

"And if I don't?" Erol sneered, "What are you planning to do? Chuck me against a wall?"

Kaen stiffened and didn't reply, rendered speechless by the insult. It took her a moment to even move her lips, which, for the first few times, made no noise.

He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her, "No, wait, I forgot, that's _after_ you've killed me isn't it?"

Anger began to cloud her mind. How dare he?

"Shut up," she hissed. "Shut the hell up."

"Why should I?" he snarled, "What's in it for me?"

"Your life." A smile lit her lips.

The corners of his mouth twitched, signalling another scathing comment, "Oh, yes. My life. Wonderful. I think I can see how well that's going to be going, now that I've got to spend all day, every day with _you_."

That was it. That was the final straw. Maybe she couldn't _kill_ him, but that didn't mean she couldn't _wound_ him. She drew her clenched fist back and let fly. Straight into his jaw line, which caused the most satisfying crunching noise. As a bonus, the moment her fist touched his flesh, she uncurled her fingers just long enough to create four long, deep gouges in his cheek. "Bastard."

His expression was priceless, "Bit-" he cut himself off mid-word. "Fine, you know what? I admit, I deserved that."

"No kidding. Didn't Mommy ever tell you to bit your tongue?"

Colour fled his face in an instant, and his golden-brown eyes widened with indignant shock. He said nothing.

"You know what? I don't have time for you," Kaen sneered. "So just…just get out and go do whatever the _commander_ has to do. I have actual responsibilities." She pointed to the door. "Get out."

"Fine." He turned, wiping some of the blood from his cheek off on his sleeve. "Have fun doing whatever a freak like you does." Erol turned and walked stiffly out the door, slamming it behind him.

All she did was smile, pleased with the way that situation had turned out. "Excellent," she said cheerfully. "If I'm lucky, he won't come back. Now… I have a job to do." Exiting the cell right after him, Kaen strolled over to a nearby cell and knocked on the door.

"Hello Jance."

The occupant of the cell looked up, eyes wide with terror and utter loathing. He shook his head, a hiss escaping his clenched teeth. "Not again, not again. You hear me! LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" he screamed.

Kaen knelt down to eye level. "No." Reaching her hand into the cell, she grabbed his chin and pulled forward. "Why should I? It's more fun for me."

Jance jerked his head, and snapped at her hand, teeth making contact for the most fleeting second.

She snatched her hand away. "You little…You know, I was going to be leaving you alone today, but with that little outburst…" An evil grin played upon her lips. "Come on now, Jance. I think you need to be taught a lesson. Maybe it'll teach you some manners," she paused. "I can see where your brother gets his from."

"NO!" He threw his weight backwards, away from the cell bars. "I already told you, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

Pulling out her knife, she murmured a simple "No," punched some numbers into the pin pad and grabbed the man by the neck. "Come along now, Jance."

Jance twisted and struggled desperately against her grip and he let out a scream of pure terror, eyes falling on Kaen's knife.

With a sigh, the woman dragged him away from his cell and placed him upon a nearby bench. "Now, now, Jance. Don't squirm. It'll only hurt more."

He shoved away from her forcefully, "LEAVE ME ALONE YOU FREAK!"

"You're calling me a freak?" She placed the tip of the knife delicately against his cheek. "Me?"

A half-suppressed whimper escaped his lips as he tried to turn away from the blade. His breathing quickened.

The blade slid under the skin. "Now what game shall we play today? You choose."

He cried out, jerking and sending the blade dragging along under his cheek. "No games! Leave me alone!"

She laughed, an oddly detached sound. "I really can't do that, Jance. You're my only way of releasing emotion," she pulled the blade out sharply, "and your brother has caused quite enough for me to need releasing."

He felt the blood begin to spill from the slice on his face, "I'm not in the mood for games," he spat icily, eyes narrowing fiercely. "Get bent."

"Jance, my friend...do you really have a choice?" Kaen slid the blade under another chunk of skin and dragged up four inches before pulling the knife out. "I like playing games. Not my fault you decided to be the game board."

He screamed. Panting, he snarled, "I decided nothing of the sort."

"You did when you decided to turn traitor! Not that I'm one to talk about that sort of thing, of course, but whatever." She sighed. "You know, with a brother like yours, it's a bit surprising you're such a turncoat. Didn't your parents want you both to be in the Guard? Or were you too," she slit his lip open, "weak?"

"Hangman," Jance snapped suddenly, turning his head to try and spit out the blood that had entered his mouth.

She leaned back, inspecting every inch of the man's flesh. "Where to begin..."

Jance's chest heaved, but it seemed like he wasn't getting any air. He shuddered, feeling blood spill from his wounds. He started to shake. "Just decide and get it over with dammit!"

"How about here?" Placing the knife at the nape of his neck, she carved gallows and four small stripes into his throat. "Guess a letter!"

Jance cried out; panic completely flooding all of his senses momentarily. "E," he barely choked out his guess.

"Wrong," she said in a sing-song voice, engraving the letter 'E' deep enough to touch the bone. "Guess again!"

Jance let out a bloodcurdling scream, straining to get away from Kaen. It was a futile effort. Tears already threatening to slide down his cheeks he glared at her before gasping out "G."

"Wrong again!" Another letter was carved deep into the flesh, along with a head for the hangman. "Guess!"

He sucked air in through his clenched teeth, fighting the urge to scream again. Jance struggled to blink back the impending tears as he hissed out "X," hoping the game would be over quicker if he was wrong with every guess.

"Nope! You're a really bad guesser, aren't you?" Again, the carved letter and the added body part.

Jance found himself missing his cell, something that rarely happened, ever. He cast about in his mind, temporarily forgetting his alphabet and, instead of a letter, said "Four."

"Idiot," Kaen muttered and carved a huge '4' into his neck. "Should I just draw the hangman and get it over with?"

He couldn't suppress it, not anymore. He screamed, halfway through it changed into a strangled sob. Tears streamed from his eyes and he found himself incapable of speech.

"Fine." Pushing the tip in even deeper, Kaen finished carving the hangman, but this time it didn't just slice the muscle. No, this time it sliced the bone. "Wimp."

He screeched, sounding like he was some strange deranged creature from the wasteland. His dark eyes were vacant, all there was left was his pain. He writhed, the small part of his mind that was still functioning properly telling him to get away from Kaen.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay still?" A smirk lit her lips. "Or do I have to make more of an impression?" And with that, she returned to her carving and wrote the words 'I will stay still' into his left cheek bone.

Jance collapsed limply back. Not unconscious, no, far from. His chest heaved, and every sob wracked his body. He no longer had the strength to resist, to even move. Blood and tears dripped slowly from his face as he gazed up at his torturer.

"There. Not that hard, was it?" Kaen shook her head and her knife at the same time. "Do you want to go back to your cell now, Jance? Had enough for the moment?"

"My...cell?" His eyes swam in an out of focus, "I...cell...yes." Nothing was making sense, all he knew was pain and that she was offering to let him go back to his peaceful solitude. His eyes rolled up as he muttered a final, "Yes."

Kaen pulled him off the bench and shoved him to the ground, kicking him in the stomach for emphasis. "I know you're awake, so get yourself back to your own bloody cell. I want to see you walk."

Jance lay there, unmoving. Unable to speak, unable to think, yet still awake. His last shred of resistance spoke to him, told him to stay where he was, insisted that he not allow her such an easy victory over him. Jance found himself in no position to argue. He couldn't have moved if he'd wanted to.

"Pathetic," she hissed. "No wonder you were so easy to break. You're just a spineless little good-for-nothing freak." Kaen's foot slammed into his head twice. "I should just kill you now."

His eyes snapped open animalistic and evil, and he pushed himself up to all fours, glaring daggers at her. His tongue flicked out to lick the drying blood from his lips. "What's stopping you?" he hissed.

"Stupid split personality," she muttered irritably. In a slightly louder voice, Kaen said, "My morals."

Jance let out a single bitter bark of laughter, "You even know the meaning of that word?"

"I do. In fact, I've got several. You're just one of the exceptions. Anyway," she sighed, "you want to go back to your cell or not? I'm up for a game of Tic-Tac-Toe..."

He sneered, "You suck at Tic-Tac-Toe, I could beat you." He extended his left arm, "Take your best shot."

She shrugged. "If that's what you want, fine. I'll be Xs and you can be Os." Taking a step forward, Kaen engraved a Tic-Tac-Toe board into the extended arm and drew a X in the top left hand corner. "Your move."

Jance smirked, "I'll take the middle square."

"Cool." Kaen slowly traced an O in the center square and then stopped to consider. After about a minute, she embedded a X into the bottom right hand corner. "Your move."

"I'll take the one right above that last X."

Again, she placed the O in the correct place. She then added a X to the left of the center square. "Your turn."

"Bottom left hand."

"Okay…" she drew the O where requested and then put her X in the top right. "You know, neither of us will win this, but your move."  
"Top center."

"Idiot," she muttered, but carved the O in anyway. With a sigh, she placed her X into the last square. "Call it a draw?"

"Fine. A draw it is," Jance sneered, tilting his wrist up to lick the blood off of his forearm.

Kaen smiled, "Let's play again!" And with that, she slid the blade under the first three layers of skin and cut off the entire game board. "Or do you want to go to back to your cell?"

Jance suddenly swayed, he jerked once and shook his head. He stared at the patch of skin now missing from his wrist. "I…what?"

"_Do you want to go back to your cell?_" Kaen sneered, clenching and unclenching her fist. "_Or is that too complicated for you?_" She flicked her knife twice, blood flying from it and on to Jance's face. "Is it too hard to figure out, Jance?"

He flicked his head, trying to shake the blood from his face. Too confused to try and get a grasp on reality.

"So you don't want to go back to your cell? You'd rather play again?" She laughed. "I didn't cut the bone last time, after all."

"No." he gasped, "No! Leave me alone!"

"Fine, fine, fine," Kaen grumbled. "Get up and drag your sorry self back to your home. I'll see you tomorrow." With a curt nod, the woman turned on heel and strode back into her cell, slamming the door behind her.


	4. Chapter Three

Hey people...Usual disclaimer: Kaen, Cayden, Valen, Blade and Jance all belong to us. Calikite belongs to me. Everyone else does not. More crazy skinning (not too graphic) and some sheer pointlessness that comes along with New Year's Eve. Which reminds me...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Alright. I'm done. Enjoy.

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"So, you hear about that little punk they've spotted down in the slums?" Valen asked, his eyes sparkling mischievously. He was a long time friend of Erol's, a bit on the quirky side, but with a good heart. "I thought you'd be interested." 

Erol gave him an intrigued look, "No, I haven't, at least I don't think I have. This recent?"

"Just came in this morning. Seems like you've got a follower," the man grinned, "or a critic." He cocked his head. "You sure you haven't heard?"

"If it's that new, definitely," Erol sighed, "My new assignment's been keeping me," he paused, "busy. What's the deal with the kid?"

"Oh, the brat went out and got your tattoos and has now begun to publicly mock you. Or, that's what everyone's saying," Valen shrugged. "Can't trust people nowadays, so I wouldn't read too much into it." A smile crept onto his face. "That aside, how is your new job going? Heard you had to work with that...what's their name..."

"Kaen," Erol snarled automatically, "She's a pain in the neck, or in the jaw, take your pick," he flipped back to the original topic, "So, there's some punk kid running around with my tattoos; is there? They don't know what they've just gotten themselves into, got anything else on him?"

"Not really. Runs with a gang called the Weaps or Weapons. No history on him...impossible to find, at least by any of our means," he explained, rolling his eyes at the word 'our'. "I thought about asking Black Ops, but it didn't seem that important and I'm not talking to Cayden unless I have to."

Erol laughed, "I don't blame you, even _I_ get out of his way when I see him coming, and I'm the superior officer. Thanks anyway," Erol suddenly looked thoughtful, "I think I know someone else in Black Ops...Well, I need to get up to the detention center, see you around Valen," Erol raised his hand in a quick two fingered salute before turning and starting to walk away.

"Cool. See ya Erol!" Valen waved at the man's retreating back. In a quieter voice he added, "Good luck with that one. Kaen doesn't grant favors to anyone."

Erol glanced back over his shoulder, "I could have told you that, but what says I don't have something she wants?"

Valen shrugged and turned away. "Just sayin'. Have fun dealing with her..." He stopped suddenly. "Hey, wait. Isn't Kaen out of jail? She's was supposed to be released five years ago! What's she still doing in here?"

"It's a 'restricted' freedom, good thing too; otherwise she'd be doing this," Erol gestured to his bruised jaw, "to the general public."

Valen chuckled, "Don't worry about the bruise. It goes away eventually. Though I do have to admit, that looks pretty nasty. Are you going to doctor it up? Cayden didn't and he _still_ has a discoloration on his chin."

"Hell no, it's just a bruise," Erol made a nonchalant hand motion, "Now, I _really_ need to get going, or else I'll have one to match it tomorrow," and with that Erol shot one last smirk at Valen before turning back around to head up to the detention center.

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Erol wandered calmly into the detention center, where, he could see, Kaen was very annoyed already.

"You're late."

He rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the newsflash. I'm amazed; you're capable of telling time."

"Don't make me give you a bruise to match," she snarled staring him straight in the eyes.

Erol raised an eyebrow. That was new. "Somehow, I doubt that threat." She'd never looked him in the eyes before; he got the feeling she was trying to avoid looking at the rest of his face. Namely, his bruise.

"Oh, and what makes you think _that_?"

Erol tapped his finger against the mark she was so obviously trying not to look at, "Call it a hunch."

Kaen's eyes flickered momentarily towards the wound. Almost instantly she dropped her gaze to the floor. "What do you want?"

"Have a job for you."

"WHAT?!"

"I said I have a job for you, what are you deaf?"

With one smooth movement, she pulled out one of her knives and placed the point delicately on Erol's bruise. "Who says I'll do anything for you?"

He smirked, grimaced actually, but he covered it well enough, "Fine, if you're not interested, I'm sure I can find someone who's more available to do the job. I just thought you might want to get out for a bit." He managed a genuine smirk, "They say staying in prison makes people crazy, though, it might be too late for you."

"Do you want me to cut off this bruise for you? Cause I'd do it with pleasure."

Erol was about to respond when a loud screech came from one of the cells, "LEAVE HIM ALONE! IT'S BAD ENOUGH YOU DO IT TO ME! YOU SAID HE'D BE SAFE IF I CONFESSED!"

Erol cast a wary look down towards the cell, the voice had sounded slightly familiar, "Um, who's that?"

"Er…" she glanced nervously in the scream's general direction, "Just one of those crazy prisoners you were talking about. What was the job you wanted?"

Erol blinked, surprised by her sudden compliance, "You know stuff about all of the gangs in Haven, right?"

"Yes, but I'm not allowed to talk about it, one of the conditions of my freedom, among," she looked towards the cell again, "others."

"I'm giving you permission to temporarily skip your conditions." He paused and decided just to cut to the chase, "I need you to find a certain gang member for me."

"Okay, and you'll do what in return?"

"I won't question you about that prisoner who is so obviously a major factor of your freedom."

She scowled, "Not good enough. I want more than just a day's freedom and no questions."

Erol sighed, "Can we negotiate this later?" he asked.

"I suppose, but don't think this topic is closed," she removed the blade from his face. "So, who's the guy?"

"I don't have many details, but I figure you can find him. Supposedly he runs with a gang called the Weapons, or something like that. The punk has my tattoos, shouldn't be hard for you to find."

"Probably not. So, why am I going after him?"

Erol rolled his eyes, "He's defacing the commander of the Krimzon Guard, if he's allowed to continue, people will view the Guard as weak. When that happens, they lose faith in the city, and join the resistance. _That_ leads to more attacks, assaults, casualties, and overall general complications for everyone. He needs to be disposed of."

"So pretty much, I'm defending your own pride and vanity."

Erol gave her a flat stare, "I'm not going to deny, I've got my own interest in this, but there_ are_ bigger issues at stake."

"Like what? Praxis' position in the city? Your position as Commander? Do you honestly think I care?" she shrugged and sighed, "I'll do it, but you owe me big time Erol." And on that note, the woman left the area without another word.

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Kaen couldn't put her finger on it. Why hadn't she just killed the man then and there? Why hadn't she just used the blade she'd already placed on his jaw and slit his throat? What had kept her from simply ending Erol's life and escaping? Why had she agreed to do a favor for him?

"What was I thinking, agreeing to that madness?" she grumbled as she walked down one of the palace's back hallways. This area was Black Ops territory, making it the only passage into its more important offices. Usually at this hour the place would be swarming with agents, but at the moment the halls were empty except for an occasional passer-by. Today wasn't really a day for more confrontation, a fact that Cayden had taken into consideration when Kaen had told him that she was coming for a visit. Now only one or two people could be found in the bright corridors.

"Morning Miss," one Ops agent said politely as he passed, his arms full of papers. "Where're you off to today?"

"Cayden," she responded automatically. "Top secret." Better not to go into any sort of detail.

The man nodded, accepting her words as truth. Both of them knew that no one questioned her methods of operation. "Very well. He's in his office, if you're wondering. Good bye Miss Kaen. Have a nice day." He continued to walk on.

Kaen rolled her eyes, sneer plastered on her face. People could be extremely fake sometimes. That man wouldn't have cared one bit if he'd heard that her day was horrible. The comment had simply been a social response, nothing more.

She heard a nearby door creak open. "Kaen? Are you alright?" She whirled around to face the voice. It was Cayden, standing in the doorway to his office, obviously concerned.

"No," she replied bluntly. "I'm in a partially homicidal mood."

He chuckled, opening the door wider to admit her, "Encounter with the commander got you all riled up?"

"Don't even start," she sighed, walking through the entryway and into the new Black Ops head's office. "I've come on business, not to discuss my personal problems."

"No? It's been a pretty hot topic for all of us underdogs. Bets are being placed," Cayden laughed, closing the door and making his way for his chair behind the monstrous desk. Kaen waited to speak until after the man had got himself settled.

"What sorts of bets?" she said through slightly gritted teeth. She was wasting time.

"Oh, this and that. Who's going to kill the other first, why you are going to kill each other, when you're going to kill each other. Ya know. Stuff like that."

"Mmm. Okay. So."

"So…?"

Kaen leaned back. "I need a little help tracking down someone."

"Civilian or member of the establishment?"

"Civilian. Gang member in the Weaps."

"Really?" Cayden whipped around in his chair to face a large filing cabinet. For some reason unknown to all but him, the Black Ops head preferred his files as hard copies. "What's the guy's name?"

She shrugged, "Don't know. Erol didn't give me much to work with."

Cayden spun around again. "This is for the commander? You're doing him, him of all people, a favor?" His face clearly betrayed his shock. "But…But…"

"He heard Jance," Kaen snarled. "I don't want him poking around. So, I get rid of this guy for him and poof! This whole problem disappears."

The monstrous man rolled his eyes and turned to the files once more. "I told you that you should've killed him when the Baron told you to. Now that little snot-nosed traitor is causing us all the more trouble."

"It was my decision not to kill the man, so he's my responsibility. I need him to keep sane."

"Torturing people makes you _sane_?"

Kaen sighed. The pair of them had gone over this many times. "Look, Cayden. I've told you time and time again that a little bit of madness, just a bit mind you, keeps my mind safe and secure from It." 'It' was her petname for the beloved monster she harbored inside

"But I thought you had meds for that."

"I do. They just don't work like they should sometimes. So, I hurt people. Now can we please go back to the original topic?" She was tired to trying to explain her actions towards Jance. There were better, less painful things to do.

"Oh, right. Um…Weaps…members…Ah!" Cayden pulled out some file folders and swiveled around to face his desk. He then proceeded to flip every individual one open. "Rapier, Scythe, Cutlass, Rifle, Musket, Blade. The six top Weapons in the city."

Kaen rifled through the folders for a moment before she came across the correct file. There he was, staring blankly up at her. Blade. The tell-tale tattoos could only been seen the most recent picture, an angry red instead of blue.

"Have we come across him before?" she asked, picking the picture up to study it. "His face looks very familiar and yet…" Kaen stared at the youthful face.

Cayden shook his head. "Nope. Blade's the kind of kid to fly under the radar. He's only nineteen ya know. But vicious. Very, very vicious."

"Where would I find him?"

"Er…back alleys in the slums? The Weaps don't really seem to stick to one specific area."

"Alright," she said slowly, not tearing her eyes away from Blade's face. "I'll find him somehow. Thanks for your help Cayden. Much appreciated." Kaen stood, photograph still in hand, and began to make her way to the door.

"Wait!" the man suddenly called out, just as her fingertips brushed the door's handle. "Are you going to kill the boy?"

Kaen glanced over her shoulder at him, feeling a strange darkness growing inside of her. "Yes," she said matter-of-factly and, with a flick of her head, left.

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Cayden sighed and shook his head as his boss exited his office. Nothing good would come of this. The commander had just given the girl her death sentence. Not even with the pills would Kaen be able to control her little monster, not if blood was spilled from a dead body. He couldn't allow that to happen.

"If anything happens to her, I'll gut that incompetent man who calls himself the commander," the big man muttered to the goldfish on his desk. "She's the best thing that ever happened in this place and I'm not about to allow her being locked away. If It tastes bloodlust…Well, we're going to have a problem." Cayden stood abruptly and headed for the door. "I've got to stop this madness at the source." Within a second, he was out the door and down the hall, heading for the detention center and, more specifically, Jance's cell.

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Back in the office, the goldfish swam around in circles a few times before it bulleted straight into the side of the bowl, killing itself.

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Kaen's feet pounded against the pavement. She'd never been outside before in her entire life and had no sense of where she was headed. Oh well. How hard would it be finding the slums, even with such a dark…um…sky? Yes, it was called the sky. It was frighteningly infinite and Kaen disliked it very much.

Turning a corner, the woman ran in a random direction. She'd eventually figure out her way there, hopefully before night fell. Something suggested it would be even more difficult to find her way around this maze of streets in the pitch black. Even now it was confusing and rather unpleasant.

"I'm never, ever going to leave my cell after this," she muttered to herself grimly, staring at the offensive sky. "Honestly."

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Blade watched the woman turn a corner; he could tell she had no clue where she was going. She acted like she'd never been outside in her life, it was…interesting. He pulled out his communication device, and thumbed the switch.

There was the crackle of static as the other end was answered, "What is it Blade?" Scythe snarled irritably.

"Cutlass, now." Blade demanded, easing out of the alleyway. He moved slowly, attempting to keep the woman within his sight while keeping his distance.

There was the sound of the receiving communicator being passed off to someone else, "Go ahead number two."

Blade glanced around before replying, "I've found an interesting target, permission to pursue?"

"Do what you want. Don't get caught."

Blade kept his gaze fixed on his target, "I know." He clicked off the device and pocketed it again. He walked forward casually to lessen the distance between himself and the woman. She looked lost. He could tell she was looking for something, it was an inefficient and seemingly random search pattern, but it was obvious. "What could you possibly hope to find here?" he hissed to himself, slipping into the shadows to better follow her. It was child's play for him; Blade was in his element, well, one of them anyway. She seemed oblivious to being tracked, all the easier for him. He smirked. She was in his territory.

She jerked suddenly, and made what appeared to be a movement to turn around. Blade reacted instantly, pressing himself up against the wall of the alley, holding perfectly still until the threat of being seen had passed. Perhaps she wasn't as unaware as he'd first thought. He'd have to be more careful. He took a deep breath to reassure himself. "Just like doing another job." he murmured quietly, "Relax."

Blade allowed the distance to grow slightly between them before letting himself to continue on tracking. Whether she'd actually thought someone was following her or not, he wasn't going to take any risks. He pulled out his communication device again and turned it back on. He clicked it three times in quick succession, signaling to Cutlass and Scythe 'Possible compromise.'

The clouds overhead were getting darker and patches of light were getting scarce, all the better for him, worse for her. The communicator clicked twice, pausing in between clicks, the signal 'Get out of there.'

Blade's thumb pressed quickly down on the button, barely pushing it the whole way before releasing it. It caused a sharp staccato snap, 'Negative.' He wasn't about to give up one of the most interesting chases he'd had just because there was the slight chance he'd been seen. Besides, if she'd actually seen him, she would have acted by now, wouldn't she? He gave his head a quick shake; he couldn't afford to start second guessing himself now.

He skulked up behind her, wanting to get a closer look. Five feet away from her he stopped. His eyes ran quickly up and down her figure. He didn't miss the two knives sheathed on her thighs. He allowed the distance to grow again; there was no reason for him to be that close, it was just asking for trouble. She was armed. That changed things. At twenty feet he slipped away from the alley wall, moving with much more caution and care than he'd been employing moments before.

Kaen was being followed. She knew it, could feel the signs of the tracker. Possibly just small gang activity, but she wasn't about to take any chances. Already she'd tried to throw him off her tail by simply turning, hoping that would scare him off. Barring that, the only other method to create fear in her victim would be to pull out the knives, which was something that she was just particularly opposed to, for moral reasons. No point in scaring a man without good reason. For all she knew, Cayden had sent a watcher after her and was just being his over protective self.

--------------------------------

Blade kept letting the distance grow, something felt very wrong about this situation. It was too easy. That didn't stop him. His youthful curiosity insisted that he find out what she was up to. He kept half of his attention on where she was going, and half on watching her for any signs that she was about to pull one of the knives on him. He glanced up as a raindrop hit him. Typical Haven weather. They sky was grey, threatening a proper shower. Blade smirked. Instinct told him it would be funny to watch the woman in the rain.

--------------------------------

Kaen felt something hit her head. It was hard and cold and left the most unpleasant damp spot on her skin. It didn't feel dangerous, but could she really be sure? Actually, the coldness reminded her very much of water, which couldn't possibly be right. Water didn't fall from the sky...did it? No, no it couldn't. Turning her face upwards, hoping to find the cause of the wetness, a large drop of rain fell and landed on her nose.

--------------------------------

Blade stifled a laugh. Instinct had served him well. Her confusion was highly amusing. He shivered as icy drops slid down his spine. He focused on her again. It was starting to rain harder and faster. He considered leaving, just going back to where everyone else was. He opted to stay, but he didn't move any closer to her. It would be better to watch from a distance now.

--------------------------------

It _was_ water falling from the sky, each drop icy cold. More and more was falling, faster with each passing second. Kaen swore internally, shaking her head to rid her hair of the raindrops. And then she heard it. A near silent shuffling of feet, behind her and a bit to the left. She stiffened and, with no hesitation, whirled around to finally face the man who'd been following her for the past hour.

--------------------------------

Blade froze, eyes widening in surprise. He pressed up close to the side of the alley. Letting himself be enshrouded in shadow. He knew that the dark clothing he wore would make it difficult for her to spot him.

--------------------------------

Nothing. There was nothing there. "What the hell," she murmured, eyes searching the surrounding area for a sign. "Where could he have gone...Oh!" Kaen remembered an alleyway she'd passed only a moment before. He could have gone in there, if he was spineless enough to run. Anger coursed through her veins suddenly. What sort of guy runs away at the first sign of danger after spending a good chunk of time tracking someone? Shaking her head of more raindrops, Kaen ran to the mouth of the alley and scanned the area for movement. Still nothing. An idea slowly dawned on her. 'Let's see if this works,' she thought grimly before screaming out loud, "BLADE!" Hey! It was worth a shot.

--------------------------------

His breath hissed between his teeth as he fought the urge to respond. How did she know it had been him? He closed his eyes wanting to disappear. She was between him and his closest exit, that wasn't supposed to happen. He felt trapped. If he moved too much she'd hear him again.

--------------------------------

Silence reigned in the alley, but Kaen wasn't convinced. Something in her gut said that the tracker was the boy she was tracking. It was possible, wasn't it? "Blade!" she called again. "I know your here somewhere. Come out now and I'll make your death quicker!" No need to be subtle, really. Best if the kid knew what his options were straight out. She continued her way along the path, whipping out her two knives. "Come on boy. Show yourself."

--------------------------------

His gaze fell upon the knives. She'd been looking for _him_. He fought the urge to obey, she didn't know where he was, that much was obvious. He inched away from her. Loose gravel caught under his foot and he slipped. He landed in a crouching stance, one hand dropping to his right gun. She wasn't going to get him, that much he knew. That was the really handy thing about guns; they had a much greater range than a knife.

--------------------------------

Kaen whirled around at the noise, tensed and ready to fight. He was nearer to the back of the dead-end back street. Slowly, very slowly, she drew back one of her arms knife pointing backwards. The weapon wasn't supposed to kill him, but to scare him into coming out. She released her taunt arm and the knife went flying through the area, burying itself deep within the far wall.

--------------------------------

Blade stood, leveling the gun at her. It wouldn't matter if she saw him or not now. Still half masked by the shadows, rain running down his face he took careful aim. Still, he had to know what she'd been doing. "What do you want?" he demanded.

--------------------------------

She sighed, she'd found him at last. "Well, to talk to you first and then to eventually kill you. Not that I really feel like doing either at the moment as today has been an overly troubling day. So, why don't we just get this over with? Come into the light so I can make sure I'm talking to the right guy. I can't kill you unless I have good reason to. Not that Erol's vanity is a good reason, but whatever."

--------------------------------

Erol's vanity? That's why she'd wanted him? She was going to kill him because of the tattoos. If that was the only reason, then there really was no sense in letting her see him. "The commander put you up to this?" His gun hand shook, he was letting himself get nervous, or perhaps it was the rain. It had escalated quickly into a steady downpour that showed no signs of stopping any time soon. Blade blinked the water out of his eyes. He began to shake more violently and knew that it wasn't the rain. "So you're saying that you can't kill me if you're not sure I'm the one you want?" He took a step back before remembering that the alley was in fact, a dead end. He wasn't going anywhere, not until she moved. Trapped. She had him cornered. How? How had he managed to let this happen?

--------------------------------

Kaen was intrigued. Was he actually going to try to escape a dead end alley? She tried to cover a smile, images running through her head. "No," she said reasonably, taking a step towards the teen, "I'm going to kill you if you're Blade or not, which I know you are. Come on kid, it's pretty obvious. There's a lot at stake here." It could do the trick...

--------------------------------

His composure was failing him, "Like what? I think I'm the only one who's got a stake in this." His voice wavered and the gun slipped from his fingers.

--------------------------------

"I do too!" Kaen nodded, grinning behind her hand. "My life's on the line here...as well as my sanity. So, if you'll be a nice boy, I'll just get this over with." She twitched, a timer ticking in her head, counting down the seconds until she lunged. 'Three, two, one,' she thought. 'Now!'

--------------------------------

He didn't see it coming, he couldn't move out of the way. Blade felt his neck and back crack as he met with the ground. All focus was lost as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

--------------------------------

Kaen stared at her knife and then at the kid. It was time. And yet...he _was_ just a boy, younger than herself by several years. Could she really do that to an innocent person? What had he done wrong? Kaen stared at the knife again. It was one thing to torture Jance, who had turned traitor on them all, but some punk? "This is wrong," she muttered irritably. "This is very wrong." What a time for her sane conscience to kick in!

--------------------------------

"Wha...what?" he asked, now very confused. Just moments ago she'd been hell-bent on killing him. Not that he wasn't thankful for the change. His eyes didn't leave the knife in her hand.

--------------------------------

Kaen didn't know what to do. If she killed him, she'd feel terribly guilty and, chances were, her nightmares would start up again. And if she didn't kill him, she'd just doomed herself to life in prison. So her mind came to a comfortable solution: just get rid of the tattoos. "Alright Blade," she snapped, raising her knife. "I've come to a compromise. I _won't_ kill you, but I _do_ have to remove the tattoos...this may sting a little." And with a flick of her wrist, the blade slid under his skin and she began to take off the offensive ink.

He screamed, louder than Jance ever had.

--------------------------------

Blade could feel himself hyperventilating, but could do nothing about it. His mind was overloaded with panic. Pure terror. Blood ran down his face, mixing and covering the tattoos. He stared up at her, eyes full of shock and utter panic.

--------------------------------

She continued her task, hoping it would come off cleanly. One eye was nearly done. "Just a bit more..." she muttered keeping the wound as clean as possible. "Just a bit mor..." her voice trailed off suddenly. She had heard footsteps at the mouth of the alley way. People. Someone to rain on her already rainy parade. "Shit."

--------------------------------

Blade lay there, he heard the footsteps too. Relief flooded him as he felt the knife cease its movement beneath his skin. He'd thought nothing could be more painful than getting that area of his face inked. Turned out, there was. He blinked the blood out of his eye; hardly daring to breathe for fear that she'd resume the removal of his tattoos.

--------------------------------

Kaen leapt up, scanning the area. Well, whoever was over there had just ruined her otherwise miserable day. Not bothering to pick up the knife she had thrown, the woman headed towards the main street. Looking back over her shoulder, Kaen called, "I'll be back tomorrow Blade. I'm not done quite yet!" And with the flick of her head, she was gone, hoping that she was going in the general direction of home.

--------------------------------

Blade watched her go. He clapped a hand over the partially removed tattoo and sat up slowly. He glanced around and spied his dropped gun. He reached out with his free hand and picked it up. He slid it back into his holster and slowly pushed himself to his feet, this was going to take some explaining to Cutlass.


	5. Chapter Four

Right, so, next chap. Same stuff as the last few have said. Can be viewed as a continuation of Bloodlust, collab with GreyJedi, that sort of thing.

Cayden, Kaen, Jance, and Valen are ours. Knives are mine. Everything else is Naughty Dogs.

* * *

By the time Kaen had found her way back to the palace, which was much father than she'd anticipated, night had already fallen and she was drenched to the bone. Red clouded her vision as she though about that idiotic, egotistical commander that had sent her on a mission that had proved fruitless. As she entered through the Black Ops doors, off limits to everyone not in the organization, she muttered under her breath, "This is crazy. I'll get him for making me do what I just did...all I need is some sort of revenge..."

No one was in the hallways to hear this irritable statement, which was both a good and bad thing. Good for her at least and most likely bad for the commander, who had secured himself a place on her black list. Kaen wasn't one to forgive easily.

Her return journey to the detention center was quick and fairly unhindered, giving the angry woman no place to vent her feeling prior seeing her coworker. By the time she'd walked through the entrance to the detention center, Kaen was steamed enough to kill. So she simply sat there, dripping water, glaring daggers at the man who'd sent her outside.

Erol raised an eyebrow at her, it was amusing, or it would have been if she didn't seem prepared to kill him right then and there. She was soaked; he actually felt pity for her. He said nothing. Just looked at her, waiting for her to snap, he knew she would, eventually.

"If I had half a brain in my head, I'd strike you down right here and now," Kaen snarled, eyes blazing with anger. "You didn't warn me!"

"Warn you about what?" he asked, clearly taken aback. That wasn't the kind of outburst he'd been expecting.

She stared, horrified, at her drenched hands. "Water is not supposed to fall from the sky!"

"Rain," he struggled to hide his disbelief, "I should have warned you about _rain_? I've heard a lot of weird things about information people would have liked to know on missions, but I think that tops the list. That's Haven's weather for you." He shook his head, "Rain?"

"Well sorry for never having gone outside in my _entire_ life!" Her voice was cold and filled with...what was it? It wasn't hate or real anger, but almost like she was joking with him. "No, the rest of the mission went fairly smoothly. My people know a hell of a lot more than yours do."

"Glad to hear it, otherwise I'd have to wonder what Black Ops did all day." His tone automatically adjusted to match hers though why it did, he couldn't say. "Cayden came by." He said in a very offhand manner.

"What?" Her eyes, blazing moments before, became filled with terror. "When? Why?" Her voice was panicked and frightened.

Erol hadn't expected that response either, "Few hours ago. He said he had to deal with something here. He went into one of the cells, told me not to follow him," Erol paused, "And I really wasn't about to argue. Heard some screaming, I think it was that prisoner from this morning actually. Then Cayden left."

"Dammit!" she cried and suddenly made a dash for the cell in question. "Cayden!"

Erol felt more confused by the second, it was just a prisoner. Granted, there seemed to be something about the man that was important to Kaen, but still... it made no sense. He watched her and fought the urge to follow. Cayden had been very specific about what would happen if he went anywhere near that cell.

Kaen peered into the cell, scanning for the dead body of her only release. Jance lay there, bleeding like crazy, eyes shut. For a moment, she could have sworn that he'd been killed by her over protective friend, but as she knelt on the ground to get a closer look, her sharp eyes caught a slight movement in his chest. Alive. Kaen breathed a sigh of relief, amazed at her luck. Jance wasn't dead. Her mind was still safe.

Erol glanced in the general direction of the off-limits cell, "So," he began, "What's the verdict?"

Her answer came out a slightly chocked sob, "He's fine. He's perfectly fine." Her hands were shaking.

"I'm guessing that's good then?" He turned away, "It doesn't sound like _you_ are."

Her mental state was a mess. Jance had nearly died, she'd nearly murdered a kid...and her mind, her mind was aching with the effort of holding back a dangerous creature that had surfaced. It was true that, if she came in close contact with blood, her sane self melted into a controlled It. And It had tasted quite a bit of blood that night. "No, I'm not." She didn't feel like fighting with him. The headache was growing, along with little screams of hatred echoing in the back of her mind. "I'm not."

What could he do? Nothing. It actually hurt to hear her say it. He gave his head a quick shake as he tried to tell himself it was just because she was a woman. He wanted to go over and just talk to her, but he couldn't, particularly not while she was in that cell. The last thing he wanted was to be on Cayden's black list. What could he say? She'd just said she wasn't fine. He couldn't think of anything to tell her. He looked at the floor, feeling like an idiot.

Kaen stood slowly, taunts in her head growing louder. She couldn't take more medicine; no, more meds would render them all useless. Severe emotional upheaval could cause things like this, her shrink had told her that when she was only 13. She turned quietly towards the commander. What had he done? What had she done? Her face was failing her and a very weak, vulnerable person was being uncloaked. She had to get out of there now. Yet, her feet stayed rooted to the spot.

Erol felt her eyes on him and looked up. She'd moved out of the cell and it could have been a completely different woman looking at him than the one who'd gone in. He felt a pang of sympathy for her; somehow this was his fault, at least partially. He could tell. Words still failed him, yet he felt like he had to say something. The silence was unbearable.

Suddenly the door burst open to reveal a very flustered looking Valen. "Erol! Erol! I need to talk with you! It's urgent!" He was panting from the obvious speed he'd been going at before arriving. "We need you downstairs NOW!"

Erol snapped up immediately, and looked at Valen; his eyes betrayed nothing of his previous mood. "What happened?" he demanded, already moving towards the other man.

He shrugged, "I dunno. All I was told to do was to tell you to hurry down there in an urgent voice. Probably something to do with the new test subject or something." Turning towards the girl he added, "And you need to go lay down. You're looking green."

Erol glanced back at Kaen and nodded in agreement, "He's right, you are." He turned back to Valen, "I was beginning to wonder if the new subject was ever going to show up. He flicked his head at the door, "Let's go."

Valen nodded absently. "Alright. We better hurry - the Baron will skin you alive and Cayden might wonder." He turned to leave.

Erol followed, "Cayden? What's he got to do with this?"

"Black Ops head. The Baron needs clearance by him before we proceed."

"Right," Erol nodded slowly remembering the encounter he'd had with Cayden earlier in the day. He shuddered involuntarily. "Do you think he takes steroids?" he asked suddenly, "I mean, no one's just naturally that big, are they?"

"Nah," Valen said, shaking his head. "He's all natural. Which is good, because his charge is so small. It's important to be huge in his line of work, which is why he was selected to join Ops."

"Makes sense, he certainly fits the bill. God he can be scary. Rank means nothing to him."

"No. In his mind, which is surprisingly similar in size to his body, everyone else is dwarfed by Kaen and his little sister. I think he hates you."

"Cayden has a sister?" Erol had never thought about the man having any kind of family before. "Val, lots of people hate me. It's nothing new. Kaen hates me, my dad hates me, the resistance hates me. It's weird when someone doesn't."

"I don't hate you," the psychologist smiled. "It's not in my nature to hate people. Heck, I even like Kaen. Which, by the way, isn't that hard. Oh, and we're almost there."

"You're an anomaly, in every way. Have you actually spoken to Kaen or was that brief glimpse it? Cause she really was acting weird back there." Erol glanced around, "Great."

"Oh no. I was studying to be a criminal psychologist when they brought her in. I've worked with her from the start. That's how I know she's a good person under all those layers and the split personality," he sighed. "You just saw a little battle back there. Nothing major, but particularly unpleasant for her."

"Certainly seemed that way. I wouldn't want to be her. In any way. She freaked when I told her Cayden did something to one of the prisoners, it was...weird." Erol paused, "I actually felt sorry for her."

"She's actually a very sweet girl...with a taste for revenge and a streak of sheer evil. I blame it all on her father, that Faine character. At least he had the decency to die before changing his will." Valen stopped suddenly in front of a blank wall. "We're here."

Erol blinked and attempted to cover the snarl that had formed at the mention of Faine, "We are?" He looked skeptically at the wall. "Val, I don't think we are."

Rolling his eyes, Valen placed his hand in the direct center of the flat space. A switch clicked and an un-seeable door swung open. "Welcome to the world of Black Operations. Otherwise known as hell."

"How the hell did you expect me to find that?" Erol demanded, "I'm not usually supposed to nose around in Black Ops territory." He sighed. "Welcome to hell, has a nice ring to it."

Two men walked down the hallway, arguing about something or rather. As they approached, the word 'resistance' came up more and more frequently. Valen groaned, almost as if he was agitated. Turning towards the passer-bys, he snapped, "Can you guys hold your tongues until this meeting is over. I doubt Cayden will want you spouting confidential information in front of the commander." Both men glanced at him, nodded once and continued on, silent.

"That's something the civvies never think of. The commander doesn't actually have complete access to everything that goes on underneath him. I'd almost think you had some kind of stake in this," Erol commented. "Who do you honestly think I'm going to tell anything to, Kaen? I think she knows all of this already."

Valen shrugged. "We can't have you knowing the whereabouts and doings of every single felony in Haven City, now can we? Alright, we're here. Cayden's office. Watch your step here." Pushing open a nearby door, he added, "Oh, and to answer any and all questions, I am in a select sector of Black Ops. Kaen selected me herself." There was more than a hint of pride in his voice.

"Nice," Erol rolled his eyes, "God, it's like High School, if you're not in the right group no one tells you anything," he stopped talking rather abruptly upon spying Cayden. He grimaced nervously. Damn, that man was intimidating.

"Commander," Cayden's voice was little more than a growl. His eyes had narrowed and his hand had balled itself into a fist. "Why don't you come sit with us? It's time for a little chat."

Erol stiffened visibly and walked towards the Black Ops head. He sat down and tried to make himself relax. Cayden's threats were still very clear in his mind and Erol knew the other man hadn't been kidding one iota when he'd made them.

Valen followed, his manner changing to that of a highly skilled professional, not a caring friend. "Cayden," he said, bowing his head to acknowledge the man. "I hope I find you well."

The head of Black Ops glared spitefully at the much smaller commander. "I've been better, as, I bet, has Miss Kaen." His eyes drilled into Erol as he spoke, blame dripping off every syllable.

"Hey, she was okay-ish until she found out you went haywire on that prisoner. You can't tell me that's my fault!" Erol said with more of an edge on his voice than he'd intended to. "I didn't do anything." His voice dropped, a lot, like he was trying to tell it to himself instead of Cayden.

Valen held up his hands, always the mediator. "Kay, guys. Back down. Kaen will be fine. We have more important things to discuss."

"I'll back down if he will!" Cayden snarled, pounding his hands down on his desk. It was more force than intended obviously, since the dead goldfish popped out of the bowl and fell to the desk with a wet thump. The room went silent for a moment.

Erol raised his hands defensively but allowed them to drop again in surrender. "I'm done, are you?"

"Of course," the large man said coldly and leaned back in his chair. "Valen? Baron? Shall we get this meeting started?"

Erol cast a quick glance at Praxis, knowing that he'd be getting a strip torn off him for not having shown the proper respect upon entering the dictator's presence.

Valen clapped his hands together and found a seat. "Alright. Let's begin this. Put the girl out of our minds for the moment - she'll be a problem to discuss later."

"Much later," Erol muttered.

"What was that commander?" the Baron asked, his baritone voice cold.

"Nothing Sir."

"People!" Cayden snapped. "Praxis! Erol! Shut up so we can get to work! Valen wants to talk, so give him your respect!" Turning towards the slightly mortified psychologist, he apologized, "Sorry for the interruption Valen."

"That's _Baron_ Praxis to you Cayden!" Erol snapped, "You forget your place."

"He's not my baron, smart one. Black Ops isn't a technical part of the government. We aren't puppets of the political leaders, unlike you."

Erol stood up, not particularly imposing next to Cayden, but he'd had enough. "He runs this Mar-forsaken city! He is everyone's Baron! You would do well to remember that!"

"Commander," Praxis spoke again, the one word causing an effect on Erol similar to that of calling a vicious dog to heel.

Erol sat down again muttering a quick apology. Why did everyone in the room except Valen have to be so intimidating?

"Cayden? Can we discuss Black Ops political views later?" Valen sighed. He then added, "But it's true enough that Black Ops doesn't belong in any way to the baron. Now, can we get to work? What do you have for us Cayden?"

Cayden coughed and shuffled through some notes. "In a day's time, at around 3:00 pm, we will be receiving a new test subject. This one, thought to be named Jak, supposedly is not affected by Dark Eco the same way as most. More, say, like Mistress Kaen."

The baron nodded, "Erol, I want you to find him and take him back to the detention center. Instruct your partner," Erol cringed inwardly at the phrasing Praxis had chosen, "To begin treatment. There's no time to waste."

Erol nodded, "Understood sir."

Valen nodded. "On the subject of your partner, Erol... As her psychologist, I would prefer that you didn't send her outside on a daily basis. It'll be traumatic enough having to deal with torturing a kid. Got it?" The last part was uncharacteristically threatening.

Scratch that bit about Valen not being intimidating, he could be. "I technically never made her leave the building; I merely gave her permission to." It was true; he'd never said it was urgent, in any way.

Praxis was on his feet in an instant, "You did WHAT?!" He bellowed.

Erol flinched, "It's only temporary, it won't stay that way, I swear."

"Well, if Kaen goes on a psycho murder spree, it'll be your fault. However, I don't think that'll be an issue. Do you think she's well enough to come down and talk? Unless, of course, someone has a problem with it..." Valen said, old personality back in place.

Erol shrugged, "How the hell would I know? She wasn't looking that great when we left, your call though. I'm fine with it if you want her here."

Praxis stood, "I have other matters to attend to. Commander, I expect you to fill me in on any details I miss." it wasn't said, but the underlying tone was easily heard. He didn't want to be in the same room as Kaen.

Erol nodded, "Yes sir."

"You know, she's not going to kill ya Praxis. Sure, she hates your guts, but Kaen won't kill ya," Cayden said soothingly. "Now would ya please get out of my office? I don't want ya here too long, as ya irritate me."

The Baron was already on his way out the door; Erol heaved a sigh of relief. One of his problems was gone. He kept a wary eye on Cayden as he pulled a face at the Baron's back. "Stupid stuck up bastard dictator."

Cayden gave a strangely tittering laugh, "Very nice Erol. You _do_ have some sanity left in that sad excuse for a brain. And Val? Smooth way of getting High and Mighty out of my office. Pulling that Kaen line works every time."

Valen smirked, "But of course. Well, gotta go." He turned to leave. "Oh! And Erol? You'll need to debrief your little friend about the new test subject, okay? Have fun!" And with a swish of his lab coat, the man was gone.

"Yeah, see you Val." He looked at Cayden, "I guess that's my cue to go, I'll...uh...see you around, I guess."

"See ya Erol! I hope you burn in hell!" the Black Ops head said, smiling widely and waving cheerily. "Burn in hell with that sad excuse for a leader! Bye bye!"

"Same to you!" Erol replied before leaving Cayden's office muttering, "Though Praxis deserves a circle of hell all his own."

--------------------------------

By this time, Kaen had stabilized. At least, she hoped she had stabilized, as being mentally unstable would be a very bad state to be in. All it had taken was throwing some knives through the wall and, despite her warnings not to, popping three more pills. It was out of her head now and she'd regained her sense. Unfortunately, Kaen had very little energy to draw on now and she was praying to whoever was listening that Erol would not return.

Erol walked into the detention center, he didn't see Kaen. His boots clicked on the polished floor, and he considered just leaving again. Then again, Valen _had_ told him that he had to debrief Kaen on the meeting. He sighed.

Kaen leaned her head against the wall, making foolish wishes in hopes of avoiding a confrontation. But this mind set stayed for only seconds. At that point, pride kicked in and Kaen was out of her cell in a second. "Oh? So you're back, are you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Well, you're looking better. Yes, I'm back. Our new test subject arrives tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon. There, you're all caught up." With that he spun on his heel and began to walk away.

"What?" she asked, confused. A new test subject? So soon? "Wait up! I still have a few questions."

"Like what?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Like who's going to pick him up? Where's he coming from? Why isn't it Cayden telling me this? Why'd he send scrawny messenger boy?"

Erol's fist connected with the wall. "What the hell is everyone problem?!" he snapped, fed up with the mental beating he'd been forced to endure. He spun to face Kaen, obviously mad. "I'm picking him up. I have no idea where he's coming from. Valen told me to tell you, I don't know why Cayden didn't do it! Satisfied?"

"No."

"Tough."

"Screw you. Do you always have to be a stuck up, dislikable, anti-social idiot?"

"Go to hell."

"You go to hell."

"Ladies first."

"Well, I guess that means you're before me. I really had my hopes up."

He glared at her, unable to come up with any kind of comeback.

Kaen smiled, "You know, I might actually grow to tolerate you if you keep this up. Now, if you don't mind, I have to get back to work and you probably have a mountain of paper work waiting for you. Commanders always do."

Erol turned swiftly and exited the detention center, still having nothing to say to Kaen.

Kaen's smile widened. That was much more fun than she'd thought possible after such a horrid day. With a much happier air, the woman returned to her cell to entertain herself with her favorite hobby: making knives.


	6. Chapter Five

Sorry about the delay with this chpater, there were issues and whatnot. Do I really have to say it again? Continuation of Bloodlust, collab with GreyJedi... I'm sure you get the picture by now. At least I HOPE you do.

Stupid disclaimer...Valen, Kaen, Cayden, Blade and I guess this time Rifle are ours. The knives are mine. Otherwise credit goes to Naughty Dog.

* * *

Erol sighed, not wanting to go into the detention center. There was no avoiding it though, a fact he knew all too well. Sighing again he walked in to go confront Kaen, yet again.

"Good morning," Kaen said as the commander entered. "I think we need to get a few things straight before we proceed today."

"Fine," he crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you remember correctly, at the beginning of out acquaintance I told you that I run this program. That hasn't changed obviously, so you're working for me. Which is why," she smiled, "You get to do a job for me."

Erol raised an eyebrow, "We'll see, what's the job?"

"I need you to buy a goldfish."

"No."

"Yes. I need you to buy a goldfish. Preferably male."

"No. I have more important things to do today, or had you forgotten? The new test subject arrives today."

"I know. And while you're out, buy a goldfish."

"How many times do I have to say no? I'd tell you to do it yourself, but you're not allowed outside anymore."

Her eyes flashed dangerously. "What do you mean by that? I'm allowed outside…you promised!"  
"Yeah? Well, it's out of my control for the moment. You can't leave."

"You do realize that I'm going to leave anyway. I still have a score to settle," she informed him, with a tone of finality in her voice.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not taking any responsibility for any massacres you cause. And I'm telling you, it's a higher power strongly suggesting that you stay here."

"Valen can go kill himself."

"Wow, you knew who it was," Erol was genuinely surprised, not that he let it show, "I would have though you'd think Praxis was behind it."

Kaen smirked, "Praxis can go kill himself too. He holds no power over me or any of Black Ops. _I _own Black Ops."

Erol clapped sarcastically, "Good for you."

"I know. Cost me a pretty penny."

He blinked in surprise; he hadn't expected her to be _literal_ about it, "Bet Praxis wasn't too happy about that. He does so love to have complete and utter control."

"Oh but he doesn't…do you know who my father was?"

Erol's face twisted into a snarl, "Matter of fact, I do."

"By the look on your face, you've met personally. You were a slummer, weren't you?"

"Personally might be pushing it. Yes, I was actually. So was the last commander."

"Torn's a dick."

"True."  
"So are you."

"Picked it up from him. Is there any point to this?"

"Yeah, at least my original point. Do you know what my dad did for a living?  
"Murdered people who couldn't pay back crime debts?"

She nodded, "But he also invested in land. Do you know what percent of this city legally belongs to me?"

He rolled his eyes, "Ninety-nine."

"Close, ninety-eight point five."

"Okay and your point was?" he didn't like the way the conversation had been going.

"Praxis owns point five of this city. Another point five belongs to Damas and another point five," she paused, "Belongs to you."

Erol uncrossed his arms and rolled his neck as he digested this information. It cracked loudly. "Why does Damas still have five percent of the city? Last I knew he was dumped in the wasteland, actually helped with it," he cracked his fingers, "Definitely not one of my better moments."

"None of your moments are your better moments, Erol. None whatsoever. Why are you still here, by the way?"

"Because I don't have to leave yet."

"Oh." Kaen looked rather dejected. "Thanks for crushing my hopes and dreams."

He smirked, "Anytime."

She shook her head in dismay, "You really amaze me sometimes, with your manners. Didn't you ever learn how to be decent to people in public or did you miss that course in school?"

"I think I missed that one, too busy shoving kids in lockers," he sighed with fake nostalgia, "Ah, good times."

"That explains a lot," Kaen paused, as if processing something, "Are you claustrophobic?"

He gave her an odd look, "Why?" his tone was wary.

She shrugged, "Bullies tend to do the same things that scare them to other kids. You shoved kids into dark, enclosed spaces, so, by that principal, you're scared of dark, enclosed spaces too."

"Nice analysis. Though, I thought you didn't go to school, where'd you get that?"

"Despite what you think, I do actually have a brain in my head. From what I talked about with Valen and my own observations of the guards, I made a theory. Not hard."

"I see," the conversation was brushing unwelcome territory again.

She looked away, "That's why Faine tortured me. He wanted to get me before I got him. He was afraid to be controlled, so he controlled what he thought would control him. That's why he killed, pillaged and raped people. He was simply scared."

Erol's fist connected with the wall behind him. His knuckles were white under his gloves. "That stupid bastard! What right did he have to do anything?!"

Kaen turned to look at him again, startled, "Um... None, I think. Are you okay? Your face has turned a funny color."

"Fine," he snapped angrily. He flexed the hand he'd slammed into the wall.

"Whoa, calm down there. What'd Dad do to your family?" Kaen had a strange look about her, almost as if she knew the answer to that question.

He crossed his arms over his chest, completely closing himself. "What's it matter to you?"

"Because it's my father. It doesn't matter if I didn't do what Dad did, but what happened to the victims and their families is my concern. It's my duty as a leader of Haven City," she explained seriously, eyes still searching his face.

"Forget it. It was a long time ago," he turned away and began to head toward the exit of the detention center.

Kaen felt a hot rush of anger course through her veins. Jance had never told her who had violated their mom, but after Erol's reaction... No matter if she hated Erol and Jance with a passion, it had been her father who had stolen their mother from them. And now she was manipulating the two sons to her advantage. It was enough to make any normal person feel deeply guilty. Luckily, Kaen wasn't normal.

Grabbing a spare knife off a table nearby, Kaen headed towards the door. It was time to settle the score between her and Blade. That would let off some steam. A smile began to form on her face as she slid the knife into its sheath. Time to play.

* * *

"Blade, _why _are you goin' to meet this chick?" Rifle demanded, slinging his namesake weapon across his shoulders. 

Blade smirked, "Cause I'm an immature git?"

"You got that right. Why are you draggin' me along?"

"You're not _actually_ questioning me, are you? I'm not letting her get me again," A shadow seemed to cross the teen's face, "Not until I get some answers."

* * *

Kaen strolled back to the alleyway where she'd last seen Blade. It wasn't raining this time around, which made her slightly less insane than she would have been if the unnatural drops had been falling. No, nothing to break her concentration. This time emotion would not get in the way. The kid would die. 

"BLADE!" she called into the mouth of the alley. It had been easier to find this time. The city wasn't as complicated as it had seemed, plus, she'd memorized a map. "BLADE! I WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"

He slid out into the open, "You hollered?" Against his better judgment he'd been forced to apply eco to his earlier wound and it was healed over again.

"Yep. Noticed that you've fixed that cut. Pity. It'll make my job harder this time around. I'm in a very bad mood, so mercy might not be at the top of my priority list." Kaen took a few steps towards him, until she was actually in the alleyway.

"You considered that _merciful_?!"

"Yes," she said simply. Her mouth formed a cruel smile, "Scared Blade?"

"Not really," his attitude had changed from the previous day's.

She whipped the knife out from its sheath. "You're acting pretty cocky, aren't you Blade?" Quickly, Kaen walked forward again, until she was only an inch from the boy. "Take a swipe at me. I know you want to."

His hand moved quickly, faster than one would have thought possible. It closed around her neck.

"Well, well, well. You're a quick one. But I'm not sure you wanted to do that. Now I have a reason to level you and no one in your gang will stop me."

"I wouldn't be so su-" he was cut off by Rifle bursting from the shadows and forcefully grabbing him.

"Let her go kid, you've got no clue what'll happen."

She laughed, "Someone here knows me. What's up Rifle?"

"Not much ma'm, 'cept this 'ere hotshot don't know what's good fer 'im." He pulled back on Blade. "Do you?"

"He doesn't really know who I am, does he?" Kaen said quietly, staring straight into Blade's eyes. "He must be pretty sheltered."

Blade inhaled sharply and averted his gaze.

"Young and stupid more like," Rifle succeeded in actually pulling Blade away from Kaen. He slammed the teen into the alley wall. "You idiot!"

"Just whose side are you on?" Blade demanded forcefully, but the waver in his voice betrayed his fear. Rifle was an intimidating figure no matter who he was siding with.

The larger man's hand connected with the side of Blade's face, "Brush up on your gang lords and ladies punk. Maybe you'll get a slight grasp on this situation if you do." He snarled.

Blade's blue eyes darted towards Kaen, colour draining rapidly from his face. "You mean she's-"

"You catch on quick brat. But not quick enough," he raised his hand to strike another blow.

"Stop!" Kaen commanded, "I get to kill the boy. I want him ready to fight with minimum damage. Having him slapped senseless would be unfair."

"Very well," Rifle let go of Blade, "He's all yours. If you don't mind, I best be on my way," he turned and gave her an odd two fingered salute. "Pleasure seein' you ma'm." Behind him, Blade dropped to his knees.

"Pleasure seeing you as well. Say hello to Cutlass for me. Might as well get the news out that I'm free to walk the streets once more," she smiled, then turned her attention to Blade. "Not looking so tough now. Do you know who I am?"

Blade kept his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him, he shook his head, "No," he said quietly.

"I'm tired of talking about this," she sighed, "Do you know who Faine is?" she knew he'd know this. No one had not heard of Faine. People lived in fear even now; for good reason.

"Faine? I…I don't know," he didn't raise his gaze, "I can't remember," there was a panicky note in Blade's voice and he'd begun to shake.

"Don't play dumb Blade." Kaen pulled a garbage can over, threw a lid over the top and flopped down. "How much did your family owe Daddy?"

"I don't know, I'm guessing a large amount. Is that why you want to kill me? A debt?" he made no move to look at her or run away.

"No. Just curious. Erol was bitching to me earlier, see. My dad's earned a personal grudge from everyone's favorite commander," she inspected her knife. "And I have a question."

"What?" Tentatively Blade lifted his eyes to look at Kaen's face; there was pure terror in his expression.

"Before I kill you, I want to know the names of everyone in your family. Your face looks familiar, a little off, but I'm sure I've seen someone like you before."

"What difference does it make? I'm all that's left. You seem to have come into contact with Erol a lot; I doubt it's anything besides the tattoos playing with your mind."

"No. I don't think of the word 'asshole' when I think of Erol. You on the other hand…" she hopped off the bin and went over to Blade, placing the knife at his throat. "Alright, spit it out."

Blade's eyes widened and he stared at her, "Why are you so interested in this?" his attempt at a commanding tone failed miserably, ruined by the waver in his voice.

"Because I dislike just randomly killing people," she said kindly, "So, just spit it out! Was your father or brother in the KG?"

"Yeah, my brother was."

"Why aren't you? Did your dad feel you were so unimportant that he refused to pay your way in? Or was it because your brother was killed like the dog he was?"

Her words obviously hit a nerve, hard. He dropped his eyes back to the ground, a sad attempt to hide the tears that had filled them, and said nothing.

It had stung her too. After such a reaction, she guessed that both of her assumptions were true. The father was a jerk and the brother had been slaughtered. She wasn't sure what to do or say, so she settled with, "Hm."

Blade remained silent, fighting to keep his emotions at bay. Why did the woman persist on torturing him? Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

"Anyway," Kaen said, breaking the silence, "Time to die boy. Are you ready? You'll be with your dear brother soon."

"No. Please," his voice was strained, "I don't want to die."

"That's so clichéd. Can't you come up with anything more original?"

"Um… Don't kill me, you conniving bitch?"

"Wrong answer." Kaen shoved him backwards, "If you call me anything, call me a 'bit.'"

"Um, what?" now he was confused as well as scared out of his skin. If she wanted to kill him so badly, why didn't she just do it already?

"Why aren't you fighting back yet?" Kaen asked, sounding thoroughly confused.

"You expect me to?"

"Yes. You're quite pathetic you know."

"Shut up. I already know what I am."

"Then fight dammit! I bet you're like your dad, weak to the core."

He gaped at her, "I'm nothing like my father."

"Wanna bet?"

"I'm not the gambling type."

She smiled, "You're just too scared to fight me."

"Since you've found the root of the problem, why are you doing this? I don't want to fight."

With an amazing force, Kaen slapped him, "Fight! Please! I don't like hurting cowards."

He jerked away, now wanting just to get away from her as fast as he could. Her action had stuck far more than physical nerves.

Suddenly, just as she opened her mouth to speak again, Kaen's wrist beeped. "Shoot. That's my alarm." She sheathed her knife, "Got to go…see you later!" She turned and walked away.

Blade blinked and stared at the sky, "Whoever's running this world either loves or hates me," this made no sense.

* * *

Erol stood in the detention center, a strangely content look on his face. The apprehension had gone smoothly, if a little oddly. He glanced into the cell behind him, the teen was still unconscious. 

"Are you back already?" Kaen asked as she entered the room, looking quite pleased with herself. "Well that's a surprise. Do you have my fish?"

"Your what? Come again?"

"My goldfish. You know; the one you promised me this morning? Or was your mind filled with unimportant things such as our new test subject?"

"I never promised to get you a goldfish. We had an argument about it earlier."

"Well go out and get a god damn goldfish!"

"Get it yourself! Since you have complete disregard for laws or rules, go buy your own damn goldfish!"

"What do you mean by complete disregard for laws or rules? I'm a law abiding crime lady!"

Erol blinked, "That's the biggest oxymoron I've ever heard."

"You're an oxymoron."

"You're a bit."

She grinned, "You amaze me. Anyways…"

"Anyway…"

"Anyways!"

"Anyway what?!"

"Where is he?" Kaen glared, "Don't make me hurt you."

"He, or Jak as he's supposedly called, is right there," Erol stepped to the side and jerked his thumb at the cell behind him.

"Ooh!! Victim!!" Kaen rushed over to the cell; then stopped. The person inside was more or less a kid. "It's a kid…" she knew she was stating the obvious, but she still hadn't managed to process the information.

"Yes, it is. I thought I'd told you he was going to be underage," he looked at Kaen, "You okay?" he actually sounded concerned.

Kaen nodded mutely, still staring. And then the boy changed before her eyes, becoming a young beaten girl, cowering in her cell. She blinked and it was Jak again. Her stomach churned.

"If it makes you feel better about it, we don't _have_ _to_ do anything to him until tomorrow."

"No," she said firmly, tearing her eyes away, "We torture him now."

"Alright," Erol opened the cell door and walked over to where the youth lay. He gave the boy a none-too-gentle nudge with his foot. "Get up." He demanded harshly.

Jak's eyes opened slowly and he sat up with a moan.

Erol reached down and hauled him to his feet.

Kaen strode over to the control panel, flipping switches and turning dials. She would prove that this boy wasn't like her, wasn't an animal, but a monster. She would prove it or die trying. And if she died, she was taking Erol down with her, the git. Why hadn't he bought the goldfish?

Erol slammed Jak down onto the chair beneath the injection machine and locked the restraints around the teen's wrists and ankles. The commander moved to go stand next to Kaen, "Going to teach me how to use this bizarre contraption? Or do I just sort of have to learn as we go?"

"Both, I guess," she shrugged, "Come over here and I'll show you the most important part of our operations."

He shrugged, he would've thought that he was close enough, but he moved to stand closer to her anyway.

Resisting the urge to shove him on top of Jak, Kaen moved away and pointed to the button. "Push."

He did. Dark eco sparked from the machine before it shot into Jak. The boy, silent up until now, screamed. Erol flinched at the sound.

Kaen laughed. SO the boy was mortal after all, not a demon sent to plague her.

Erol raised an eyebrow at her. Moments ago she'd been freaked, now she was _laughing_? Sometimes that woman just didn't add up."


	7. Chapter Six

Blah, blah, blah... You know the old routine. Kaen, Valen, Cayden, Jance and Arbner all belong to us. The knives belong to me. Everyone else belongs to Naughty Dog.

Anyway, now that that's over and done with, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

By the next morning, Kaen felt as if the world had stabilized once again. The first hours of her day were pleasant and Erol-free. All was well. Until the knock at the door. But it wasn't Erol's knock, no; it belonged to someone completely different. A man she probably loathed even more than the commander.

Crossing the room, Kaen opened her last barrier between her and the other. "Hello Arbner," she said sullenly, "What can I do for you today?"

The man, Arbner, smiled, "You could allow me to gaze upon your perfect face."

"Please go away."

"No, Kaen. I cannot leave yet," he shook his head, "I must first give you a gift for your victorious capture of the convict!"

"Thanks." Why wouldn't he leave?  
"Have these flowers as a token of my love," and out of nowhere, Arbner produced some roses.

This man was her stalker. From the moment he saw her, he followed her. Kaen hated him, wanted to kill him, but she couldn't. Wasn't allowed. So he could still follow her, still worship her and still obsess over her.

"Go away Arbner." Yet she took the flowers. For the first time, she wished Erol was around.

Little did she know, her wish was already granted as the commander had entered the detention center though an alternate entrance and was now leaning, very casually, against the door frame with a highly amused smirk on his face.

"Oh! A man rivaling for my angel's affections! I must not let that happen!" And then he tried to kiss her full on the lips adding, "But this goddess is mine!"

That was too far. Erol loathed the woman but she deserved better than the likes of Arbner, if not by much. He pushed off the doorframe, moving faster than he would have thought reasonable given the circumstance, and forcefully grabbed Arbner by the back of the shirt. With a seemingly effortless motion he threw the other man out into the hallway.

"Hey! What was that for? Everyone know you don't give a damn about Kaen! Why can't you just leave us with our love?" Arbner whined, "She is worthy to work with someone ten times you! You scum!"

"Says the one sitting on his ass in the hallway," Erol leaned against that doorframe crossing his arms over his chest, "I've got work to do, and you're interfering with it," he smirked, "Go back to hell you lowly scumbag."

Kaen watched as Arbner skulked away. Sighing with relief the moment he was gone. Then relief changed to irritation. "You should have let me deal with him," she said, wiping her lips. "And you're late."  
Erol turned to face her shrugging, "Didn't I tell you? I'm not coming in today; I'm just fashionably early for tomorrow."

She bit back a curse. "Just get on with it. I have other work today that torturing. I'm two weeks behind thanks to you."

"How is that my fault? I've known you for what? Five days?" he paused, "What exactly do you do anyway?"

"Ever heard of calikite knives? Or eco-knives as the civilians usually call them?"

"They sound familiar, is that what those are?" he gestured to the knives strapped to her hips, "Is that a threat for asking a stupid question?"

"No. It's what I make. I invented them five years back. Dark, light, green, blue, yellow, and red. And you all will have to carry them one day. Damas asked me to equip the KG with them. They're dead useful."

"I can imagine, though," Erol patted the gun strapped to his thigh, "I'm not particularly adept at using a blade. Can I see one? Preferably _not _when it's at my throat of poised to slice the bruise off my cheek."

She unstrapped one of her own knives and threw it to him. "Doesn't rust, doesn't go dull…Perfect weapon. There's a button at the top. If you press it, eco comes out. Yours is green eco, so you won't hurt yourself."

Erol caught it and pulled the knife from the sheath, "I might not use them much, but I can tell high quality when I see it," he peeled part of his glove away from his right hand, so a small amount of skin was exposed, and made a quick light cut across it.

"Now press the top."

He did. Green eco flowed from the blade, healing over the small wound.

"Now give it back. My knife. You'll get yours later."

Erol sheathed it and passed it back, "Relax, I wasn't going to keep it. People get attached to their knives, I know. I learned that the time I nicked Torn's when he wasn't looking. It's nice."

"You astound me."

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, random question: what was it like having Torn as a best friend?" she asked, changing the subject while strapping her knife back onto her leg.

"Strangely fun," he didn't ask how she'd known that, "There were some weird parts, like when I had to look after his little brother. We caused so much trouble at the academy," he sighed, "Why?"

"Cause I hate Torn. We had a nice, long conversation about his land. I wanted to buy it, he wouldn't sell. I blew it up, he went all depressed. And I didn't know he had a brother. What's his name?"

"So you're the one who blew up the slums. His brother's name was Ripp, he died in that explosion. It's no wonder Torn got depressed afterwards."

"Serves him right, both him and his…" Kaen's eyes suddenly widened as a fact dawned on her, "Blade…"

"What?" Erol was confused now.

"Long story. Let's just get on with it. I've got to go deal with something this evening."

"Okay, whatever. So, shall I go get Jak out?"

"Sure. I'll get everything ready." And so she did.

Erol walked over to Jak's cell and, after a brief struggle resulting in Jak getting hit multiple times, dragged the teen over.

"You're abusive, aren't you?"

Erol rolled his eyes, "Abusive is such an ugly word. Let's just say, I'm aggressively persuasive."

She shrugged, "All amounts to the same thing in the end. Anyway, another random question just popped into my head."

"Okay, what?" he asked, slamming Jak down and snapping the restraints shut.

"What the hell did you and, presumably Torn, do to poor Arbner? It didn't take a rocket scientist to notice the loathing in his eyes. And that strange desire for revenge. I mean, I find that guy really annoying with all this true love business, but I wouldn't do anything that would make him hate me like he hates you," she stopped, then added bitterly, "Mostly because I'm not allowed to. Stupid captain."

Erol laughed at the memories, "For one thing, he should have been locker shaped by the time we'd finished our first year at the academy. It didn't help that I stayed year-round and knew that place better than some of the instructors by the time school went back. I always wonder if I should have gone home that summer instead," he paused, "Anyway, there's a lot more, but now's not really the best time to talk about it. I'm just going to leave it at: Arbner and I have a long standing rivalry that doesn't show any signs of letting up, ever."

"So you are a bully?" she laughed, twiddling a dial. "It doesn't really matter I suppose, since it is Arbner. God how I'd love to get back at him. But Valen says it's not just or legal, so I can't."

"Arbner was a jerk to me first, thought a higher social standing meant he could make me do his dirty work. 'Oy slummer, you got brains don't ya? Write this paper for me! I'll give you penny if you do.' If you ever feel like doing something to that bastard, I'll go conveniently blind."

She laughed again, "No. I have a better revenge for Arbner than a short, dignified death. Oh he'll regret how he acts towards me in a few years, which reminds me..."

"What?" Erol asked suddenly skeptical.

"I told you that I required more than just a day's freedom for doing that little errand of yours? Do you recall that conversation?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I decided what I want as true payment. It'll be beneficial to the entire city."

"Okay, what?"

"I want my papers. I want my ticket out. You can get them for me, I know you can. The moment those forms are signed; this city belongs to me in every legal - and illegal - way. Do we have a deal?"

Erol grimaced, knowing his response would likely get him killed. "Hell no."

"Hell yes. I need those papers. You are going to give me those papers. It's a fair deal, isn't it? Or do you want the slums blown to bits again?"

"I frankly don't give a damn about the slums."

"Right. You don't give a damn about dear old daddy, do you? Or your step-mom. Or your step-siblings. I could blow them all away and you wouldn't care," Kaen was enjoying herself too immensely to take care to check her next words, "I doubt a cold hearted bastard like you would care if their biological sibling was hurt. Like Jance, maybe? Alive one second and dead the next? Did you even care?"

Erol was rendered momentarily speechless by the harsh words. He stared at her; she'd gone too far, _way_ too far. He gave her a pained smirk, "I knew it all along. You're exactly the same as your father."

She would _not_ be bested by him. "I guess it runs in the family. Too bad. Only I kill cleaner than my father. Doesn't that make you feel better?"

He could have killed her, "Not in the slightest."

"I'm pissing you off, aren't I?"

"No," he said sarcastically.

"Are you going to give me the papers?"

"No."

"Then get on with torturing our poor little convict. I guess I'll have to get Cayden to figure it out for me. I was hoping you'd be smart enough to earn some favor, but obviously not. You're as spineless as your brother."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Erol snapped, hand hovering over the control.

That was around the time where Kaen knew she'd crossed over the line. If Erol guessed that she kept Jance as a prisoner, he might actually kill her. Or try. It was time for a change of subject. "Well, let's get to it! I wonder how Jak'll react... Why don't we find out? Hopefully he'll do something, because Valen is expecting a report on his desk by five tonight."

He slammed his fist down onto the button.

Kaen gave a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.

Erol didn't miss Kaen's obvious relief, she was hiding something from him and he had a feeling it was important to know. He ignored her though and turned his attention to Jak.

The teen screamed and twitched as Dark eco worked its way through his bloodstream.

As hard as he tried to focus on his job, Erol's mind wandered and if anyone had looked at his eyes, they would have found only a cold frozen gaze.

Kaen watched in amusement, enjoying the screams. Until the teen on the table changed into a much more familiar shape. She shook her head to clear it. Those days were long over, never to return. She just had to calm down.  
Erol couldn't do it. He couldn't be anywhere near her. Not after the things she'd said. He turned around and began to walk away; she could finish up by herself.

"Well now. What an odd little creature, wouldn't you say Jak?" Kaen said, satisfied by the turn of events. "You know, I think I'll celebrate. You get to go back to your cell and I get to go fetch my favorite convict." With a smile, she removed Jak's fairly limp body from the machine and tossed him back in his cell. "See you later." She turned away and walked towards another cell. "Jance!"

Jance lay in his cell, he'd barely moved since the last time Kaen had seen him. Bruises littered his body making movement agony. His eyes flickered open at the sound of his name.

"Jance? Are you awake?"

"Yes," he mumbled, not really caring about whether or not she was going to do anything to him.

"I have a question." The idea to ask just came to her randomly. But it would be worth it.

"That's a new one. What?"

"A) Why's your brother such a jerk and B) why didn't you mention that it was my dad that raped and murdered your mom?"

"Your dad did _what_?!"

"Oh, so you didn't know? Erol had such a strong reaction that I was sure he'd have told you. But maybe I was right when I said he didn't give a damn about you. I'm usually right."

"Doubt it." Jance moaned pushing himself up into a half sitting position. "He was probably going through some old files or something and recognized your dad, unless you're implying that he knows I'm here, which he obviously doesn't."

"No," she admitted, "But I almost let slip today. Can you imagine the consequences if I had?"

"Cayden would be getting you off the wall with a windshield scraper," Jance looked thoughtful for a moment, "And then I'd get to watch as Erol was brutally beaten to death. What awful repercussions my existence causes people."

"Erol wouldn't hurt me. He wouldn't dare to risk it. No one does in my town. No one. You included. Now, it's time I get to my next point."

Jance was confused by the fact Kaen was holding a conversation instead of skinning him, but that wasn't to say he wasn't somewhat pleased by the change, "Okay, shoot."

Ah, back to the good old questions. "What game do you want to play today?"

Go figure, he'd known it wasn't going to last long. He held out his wrists, "I don't care. You choose."

She inspected each wrist before announcing, "We'll play Tic-Tac-Toe on your foot. How bout that?"

He blinked, "Are you serious?"

"Yes..."

"Fine, left or right?"

"Your right. Stick it out there."

Jance sighed and did as she said, this was going to hurt.

The game board was easy enough to make, even with all those bones poking up. "You start, I guess."

Jance stared at his foot for a while, contemplating, "This one," he pointed to the square that Kaen would see as the top left.

She made the mark..._through_ his foot. "My move," she said with a grin, making a mark right below his.

Jance screamed; damn woman would have to make it as painful as she could. He managed to choke out, "Center square."

She made the mark, feeling the blade scraping the floor. Her mark was made in the bottom right hand corner. "Your turn."

Tears flowed easily from his dark eyes as he let out another agonized scream. "Above yours."

"This is going to be another useless game. Neither of us will win," she smiled sweetly, "Maybe I need to cut out the whole game board..."

Jance's eyes widened and he pulled his foot away from her, "No!"

"You sure? It'd be fun!" She actually sounded sincere.

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Fine," she said. "But I'm not done yet... Shall we play hangman?"

He moaned, "Where this time?"

"Umm..." she pointed randomly at his chest. "There!"

He couldn't help finding her selection slightly amusing, "Through my shirt? Or do I have to take it off?"

"Through, I suppose. That way the fabric will get into the wound. I can't cut too deeply, lest you die. And we all know how unfortunate that would be!"

"Yes, unfortunate." He lay down leaving his chest open to her, "Why have you been keeping me alive anyway? I mean, I can't be useful anymore."

"You know," she bit her lip, "I have no idea. Cayden thinks I'm mad for leaving you alive, but I don't think so. You'll play your part in the end. Call it killer's instinct."

"Fair enough."

She was about to make the first cut when she heard the footsteps. Who would come to the detention center at this time of day? Her co-worker had already stomped off, which left only three other people. She hoped that it was either Cayden or Valen, not Arbner or one of his lackeys. "Who's there?"

"It's Valen. What in the world are you doing...? Oh!" Valen's smiling face poked into the cell. "Hello Jance. How are you today?"

"Been better. You?"

"Fine, fine. But I did come on business," he turned and addressed Kaen, "Cayden wants you in his office, if it's convenient. Something about some files of yours or something..."

Kaen grinned, "Excellent. I only messaged him about ten minutes ago. I'll be right there." Casting a quick glance in Jance's direction she said, "Stay here until I get back. Not that you have much of a choice."

"Come on," Valen complained. "I'm growing old out here..." Kaen smacked him hard on the arm as she got up and exited the cell, slamming the door hard behind her.

--------------------

Erol lay on his back staring up at the undercarriage of his NYFE racer. He had a wrench gripped in his right hand and was glaring at the machinery.

"Stupid git," he muttered bitterly, "This could've killed me." His last mechanic had barely known the difference between the fuel line and the brakes. It was taking Erol weeks to repair the damage the incompetent man had caused.

He heard footsteps out in the hallway but didn't pay any attention to them. Why should he? It was hardly unusual to find other racers or mechanics around. The footsteps grew louder. Now they had his attention, something seemed wrong about this.

He half sat up and narrowly avoided smacking his head on the vehicle.

"Um, hello? Is anyone here?" a high female voice asked. The pitch grated on Erol's nerves.

He didn't respond, hoping someone else would reply to her. It wasn't any of his business anyway.

"Hello?"

God, whoever that voice belonged to was certainly a pathetic one. Erol sighed, and rolled out from under the zoomer. He grabbed his grease rag from where he'd left it on the vehicle and began wiping his hands on it. He still didn't want to say anything.

It wasn't long before the young woman came to Erol's studio area. "Oh! There is someone here!" The amount of relief she had in her voice was astounding.

"Yes, there is. Fancy that." Erol pretended to scrub at a stubborn grease stain on his hand.

"Why didn't you answer me?"

Damn girl, she was annoying. "The acoustics," he lied, "They're absolutely terrible in here."

The girl gave him a pleading look, which, 'occupied' as he was, Erol didn't notice. "Can you help me?"

"Why would I want to do that?" he asked, still not looking up. He'd accidentally managed to rub away his excuse for not looking at her and was now desperately searching for a new grease stain.

"Well... I..." his question had seemed to stump her.

Erol unfortunately couldn't find another good stain to look at and was forced to look at the girl.

"I'm lost," she said, tears filling her green eyes.

Erol cringed inwardly, "Do I look like the kind of person who has a map?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. It's just I've been wandering around here since yesterday and nothing's familiar and I've lost my friends and my father and-"

Erol cut her off, if he hadn't he was sure she'd have kept him there all night.

"Where are you trying to get to?" he'd wanted to say 'And I give a damn, why?' but that would probably only have made her start sobbing and he'd have to deal with _that_.

"I don't know if I can get there from here," she said, "I don't know where I am."

"You're in the damn stadium of Haven City? That help?" Erol half snapped.

She shook her head.

"Alright. Where are you from?"

"Sandover Village."

Erol choked, "What kind of acid trip have you been on? That place has been gone for hundreds of years!"

She looked shocked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean it's been gone for hundreds of years, what else I would mean?" he turned away, "Now, I'm busy, so unless you know anything about zoomers, which seems highly unlikely, go away." He got back down under the racing zoomer, but didn't hear her leave. "If you're just going to stay here anyway, pass me the spanner," he held out his left hand, "It's the one-" but he didn't get his sentence finished before it was in his hand. Maybe this mysterious girl would have a use after all.


	8. Chapter Seven

Alright, just a quick warning, this chapter's kinda bland. Sorry about that. Enjoy as best you can.

Erol is Naughty Dog's. Kaen, Valen, and Blade are ours. Knives are mine.

* * *

Erol walked into his quarters. God, he needed an aspirin. That girl had not shut up. He briefly wondered what Kaen had done after he'd left. If he was lucky, she'd killed Jak and he'd never have to see her again.

He opened the medicine cabinet and dry swallowed two pills, hoping that the girl's voice would leave his head. Keira, her name had been, she really knew her way around an engine, but was a complete idiot everywhere else. He'd see if he could stand her long enough to make any sort of business relationship from her services.

The main door opened, "Hello! Is my melancholy friend at home?"

"Yes, I am as a matter of fact. How's it going Val?"

"Pretty good. Just saw your partner a while ago. She was in a good mood, what'd she do to you?"

"I'd rather not get into it."

Valen entered the bathroom, "How was she to know Jance and the rest of your family is such a sore spot?"

Erol fixed Valen with a flat stare, "That's really freaky when you do that you know."

"Not my fault I'm gifted. It's not all rainbows and butterflies, genius comes with a price." Valen's usually bright eyes went dark and rather haunted. But only for a moment.

"I'm sure it does," Erol hadn't quite missed the fleeting look, "So, what brings you here so randomly anyway?"

"Boredom. Plus Torn's making me bend over backwards."

"Oh? What's that traitor up to?"

"Being a general irritation. I can't give you details, Kaen's forbidden it. I think she kind of likes you." Valen grinned, "She'll like you even more if you'll cough up the release papers…" he paused, "Now that she has all the others."

"I should've known you'd take her side," he paused, running a hand back through his hair, "I can't give them to her."

"And why not? She deserves freedom," then he stopped to glare, "And I'm not taking her side. I take the world's side."

"Whatever, it makes very little difference as you're _not_ taking my side. If I give her those forms I'll no longer be useful and she'll kill me," he sighed, "Those forms are the only thing I've got on her; she has the entire Black Ops unit on me. I dislike disadvantages."

"She's a fair leader. She'll let you live…most likely…"

"I'm still not handing them over. I have no solid footing with her, it's too risky."

Valen sighed, "I wouldn't bet on it, I don't think your relationship ends in death."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"Anyway," he looked around, "Do you have food in this place?"

Erol laughed in spite of himself, "Not in the bathroom," he paused, "I'm actually out of anything prepared at the moment, but I _can_ whip something up."

"You're a better cook than me. I'll eat what you cook or I go around telling you your past in extensive detail."

"Alright, alright, come on," Erol brushed past Valen, "There's no need to resort to threats. What do you feel like?"

"Real food. Material. Not fake."

"Well that certainly gives me options, doesn't it?"

"Not my fault my brain creates non-existent things! I've tried to eat a mentally created peach before!"

Erol laughed, "That honestly doesn't surprise me. I feel," he paused, "Carnivorous."

"Yeah. Meat's good. Oh, and that reminds me…"

"About what?" the commander asked, lord only knew what meat would remind Valen of.

"Nothing really to do with meat, unless you count it in a very roundabout manner. No, I just remembered that Kaen mentioned she was going out this afternoon and to tell you if I dropped by. Meat came into the conversation."

Erol's face met his palm, "She didn't. Dammit."

"She did," Valen replied happily, obviously enjoying himself, "And she told me to tell you that you've managed to piss Cayden off royally. But I could've told you that myself."

Erol raised his head and stared at Valen, "How the hell did I manage that? And should I start adding more locks to my door?"

"Nah. He's just mad about the goldfish."

"The goldfish? What the hell are you talking about Valen?"

The psychologist sighed, "Kaen told you to buy a goldfish and you refused. Cayden's mad. What else do you want to know?"

"The world is _so_ against me..."

"No. Black Ops is against you. If you had just bought him the damn goldfish..."

Erol crossed his arms, "We both know Black Ops control the world, whether or not anyone else is aware of it. I'm still not buying a goldfish."

"But then Cayden doesn't have anyone to divulge his deepest secrets to!" Valen exclaimed, almost mocking the huge man. Almost.

The redhead bit his lip and struggled to refrain from laughing, "Doesn't he?"

"Well, telling Kaen or his sister wouldn't work all that well. Not me, because he knows I'll eventually tell Kaen or you. So he picked a goldfish. Sue him."

"I'll pass on the legal action, thanks. Hey Val?"

"Yup?"

"How old is Cayden's sister?"

"Erm," Valen bit his lower lip, "She was in the same class as Ripp. Childhood sweethearts I think.

Erol nodded vaguely, "I see..."

"Yup. Leeta was pretty torn up about it. And that reminds me of something else..."

"Okay, shoot."

"Do you have any idea why Kaen would want to get out Ripp's file? When she came to visit me and Cayden for her legal crap, she also picked up that folder. Looked quite pleased with herself. Got any idea of how she'd know of him?"

"Matter of fact, I do. I mentioned him earlier; I don't really remember why...What would she be doing with his file?"

Valen shrugged, "It was almost as if she'd seen him elsewhere. She kept muttering, 'I knew he looked familiar' over and over again." He stopped and added innocently, "Maybe she's out looking for him. Is the food done yet?"

"No, not yet. How could she know Ripp? She was in prison when he died. He seemed to ring a bell with her before too. Has she said anything about a 'blade' to you?"

"Blade? He's the punk from the slums. No family, no connections, no..." Valen's eyes widened, "You don't think..."

"Oh god..." Erol went white, "She's going to kill him."

"No. Much, much worse. She's going to use him for her own purposes. Torn's her mortal enemy - she'll take him down in the worst possible way. And what's the worst possible way to go?"

"Well… Poor kid, he's doomed." Erol looked at Valen, "I don't get it though, why's it taken him so long to show up? That explosion was five years ago."

Valen rolled his eyes, "What's the point? He'll think Torn's dead, it's your fault and I follow you. Three older role-models gone. Leeta has an older brother who would turn him in immediately. Plus, since he's in a gang, he can prove to himself that he's not weak. Or something to that degree. This is all guesswork, mind you."

"True, but…" Erol considered, "Torn only quit two years ago…"

"Hmm…then there was something else…Maybe Kaen'll find out for us," he sniffed the air, "When's the food gonna be done? I'm hungry."

"That kid always was too skittish for his own good…" he abruptly realized that Valen had asked him a question, "Sorry, what?"

"Food?" he made puppy eyes. "I'm wasting away from burned toast!"

Erol laughed, "Another couple minutes. You'll survive."

"But will Ripp? She was on a warpath…I don't like this."

--------------------

Kaen walked purposely down the alley, calling out Blade's – Ripp's – name. At least, his alias. "BLADE! BLADE!"

He slipped up behind her, "Are you stalking me now or something? Seriously."

It took an awful lot of self control not to burst off laughing, "In a way Blade. Or," she couldn't resist a smile, "Should I say Ripp?"

His shock was obvious, "I'm _Blade_."

"You're _Ripp_. Younger brother of Torn, world's biggest idiot, by seven years. Assured dead after the explosion in the slums. Yet you linger on, much to my delight. And Cayden's, who can tell his little sister once again."

"Leeta…" he breathed, a forlorn look appearing in his eyes. He gave his head a quick shake. "_Blade_. Ripp died in that explosion."

"Ripp, don't play games. If you ever want to see Torn again…"  
"All I have to do is die. Stop calling me Ripp."

"TORN'S NOT DEAD!" There. That'd get his attention. This was fun.

"You're lying." There was such pain in his eyes and voice. What right she have to hunt him down and throw his mind into turmoil?

She sighed, "For a dead person, that scumbag causes me a hell of a lot of trouble on a daily basis. Always been that way since I blew up the slums."

"You did that?" his voice was quiet.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "He denied my business deal. No one cared."

"I don't know if I should thank you for that or not…"

"Thank me. You'll live longer," she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, "Now; I can give you a solution. A perfect deal, of sorts."

He shied away from her, "What?"

"You sign this contract; I bring you to Torn, but at a price."

"What kind of price?"

She was finally getting through to him, "Be my gang informant. Too much a price for your brother and your girlfriend?"

He held out his hand, "Let me see that."

Kaen passed it over. "One signature. Leeta's grown into quite a lovely young woman. Torn's become more than anyone ever dreamed, as did you. In fact I think you've outdone him."

"Thanks," he muttered, reading the contract. He looked at her, "Fine."

"Sign the damn papers. Erol's going to be missing me. Val can't stall him forever."

He didn't ask for the pen, he bit the tip of his pointer finger and used the blood to sign his name, his _real_ name, "Here."

She took it, inspecting the paper. "Thanks Ripp. I'll see you later." And like a ghost, she was gone.

He sucked his finger wondering what the hell he'd gotten himself into.

--------------------

"She should be back now," Valen grinned, looking at the clock. "I better go, before I eat you out of house and home."

"Don't worry about it, it's not like I can't get more food," Erol shrugged, "If you've got to go…"

"Better. I want to see the damage. You better go meet her in the detention center. You can go yell at her if you like."

"I don't know about any yelling, but I should probably head up again."

Valen headed out the door, "See you later! I'll talk to you soon!"

"Yeah, see you Val."

Valen left, hoping that Kaen hadn't promised too much.

Kaen returned to the detention center, feeling on top of the world.

Erol had gone up, "So, where were you?"

"Blackmailing Ripp," she grinned at him, "Valen's probably having a small seizure downstairs because of it."

Erol shrugged, "Maybe. What'd you do to him?"

"Ripp? Promised his girlfriend and brother back in exchanged for him to be an informant. Same old, same old. Other than talking to Val, what'd you do to use your sulking to the best of your ability?"

"Nothing you'd be interested. It was grimy and headache inducing."

"Stadium?" Kaen whipped out a knife and began to play with it. She was in an obviously good mood. "Well, gets rid of testosterone, I suppose."

"Yes, the stadium. It was rather frustrating honestly." Her cheerful mood was annoying to him, but he struggled not to show it. "You couldn't have spent all this time with Ripp or Jak. What were you doing?"

"Well, first I checked on the prisoners, then went to get paperwork, did some of the paperwork, talked to Val, went hunt Ripp, and came back. Haven't even bugged Jak today. That's your job," she laughed; then added, "And I bought Cayden his goldfish."

"We've both bothered Jak today," he smirked, "Thank god that Cayden has a goldfish, now he can talk to someone again. Sounds like you enjoyed yourself." He paused, "You need to stop going outside."

"Why? Other than the fact you'll lose your job and all. I mean, I hate this 'weather' part, but it's fascinating out there!"

"Hit right on the problem, I'll lose my job."

"And I'll lose my mind. I might just go home one day, you know, and leave you the DWP. What'd you think of that?"

"You need release forms for that."

"Point," Kaen sighed, "But I swear that you'll one day cough them up. You'll see."

"Maybe. Don't hold your breath on it."

She rolled her eyes; then pointed to Jak's cell, "Well. We better get to work. Correction. _You _better get to work."

"What? We already injected him today. We have to do it again?"

"_You_ have to do it again. Triple overdose should do it," she turned to leave, "If you need me, I'll be doing paperwork."

Erol smirked, knowing the feeling, and went to go get Jak out of his cell.

The teen, still rather beat from the first session, put up much less fight this time. It didn't mean that Erol was any easier on him though.

Erol slammed Jak down, securing him to the injection table. "You little eco freak," he sneered, walking over the controls. He changed the settings and slammed his fist down on the button to begin the injection process.

Jak screamed, writhing and twitching as the substance flowed into his body.

The commander grinned sadistically, actually allowing himself to enjoy the agonized screams this time.

The first cycle ended and Erol immediately began the second. He glanced over at Kaen, or at least where he thought she was. There was a mountain of papers blocking his view. It reminded him of all the work he had to do when he got back to his quarters, all this time in the detention center was really putting him behind. Being Commander could really kill one's social life. Erol briefly wondered how Torn had coped with it, all of the paperwork, the long hours, the seemingly endless complaints and arguments from the other members of the guard. He knew it was driving _him_ nuts.

Ripp's survival was bothering him too. What had he overlooked? Had he just been distracted, or had it been something else? Something like he wasn't the only one without anyone who cared. Was it a desperate plea from his subconscious to not be alone anymore? A cry so helpless that he couldn't help but miss an important clue? He dismissed the idea, it was nuts. Valen had to be right, there had to be something on Ripp's end that had stopped him from showing up. There had to.

He realized that the second injection had completed and he pressed the button again, starting up the third and last cycle. This time Jak's cries cut off rather abruptly in the middle of the session. Erol snapped back to reality, his golden eyes scanning the information relayed to him on the control panel. There was nothing to worry about, Jak had just passed out. He sighed and waited for the experiment to come to a close. It was only another couple minutes before the injection was complete.

Having finished with the torture Erol released the restraints on the now unconscious teen and took him back to his cell. The commander dumped Jak unceremoniously on the ground muttering "Freak," and slammed the cell door shut.

Kaen looked up from the paper she was working on. "And people call me violent. You're making me proud Erol. Keep up the good work!"

He blinked at her, "I can't tell if that was an insult or your attempt at complimenting me."

"I can't tell either. It's probably the closest thing to a compliment you'll ever receive."

"In that case, thank you, I try."

She shook her head. "How could dear Valen ever be best friends with you? Back when you were best friends, that is." She placed the paper on top of a small pile and continued, "Sometimes I just don't know how you've managed to survive all these years so _sanely_."

He laughed, "If you're using Valen as the guideline, I suppose I would seem sane wouldn't I? Course you're not the embodiment of sanity yourself. For the record, I'm _still_ friends with Valen."

"Val is not sane. Far as I can tell, people who see people aren't sane."

"No, he's not, but he's rather good at faking it."

She sighed and leaned back, "I almost pity him. Almost. I mean, he also has more mental powers than most of Haven combined. But genius comes at a price, as he likes to say."

"I'm inclined to agree, not that I'd know firsthand, but I've seen what he goes through. It's a steep cost, but one he has no choice over." Erol sighed, "It's hard on him, _really_ hard on him. Frankly I'm surprised he's as together as he is."

She nodded, "He's how I first heard of you. Erol this, Erol that. I swear that he had a crush on you."

"Oh god. That'd just be weird."

"Don't tell me that you didn't notice. It was _so_ obvious."

"It'd still be weird. I'm currently in denial over it."

"Well, deny all you like. I still think he does," she grinned evilly, "Don't tell me you don't return the feelings. We all secretly know you _adore_ him."

"Not that way."

"I just realized something..." Kaen sounded genuinely astonished.

"What?"

"We're having a civilized conversation at someone else's expense... That sounds so _normal_."

Erol paused, considering, "We are. That's weird. We could have it at your expense if you'd prefer, I don't have a problem with that."

She whacked him, "In your dreams. We all know I'm the sane one around here!"

"If I'm not mistaken you started the conversation by calling _me_ sane."

"Well... Well... Did I really? I must have been hallucinating."

He smirked, unable to resist a jab at her, "Wouldn't surprise me."

"Don't make me kill you," she growled.

"You can't kill me. I'm the only one who can get you those papers."

"Point. Unless you got them for me right now."

He laughed, "Why would I do that? Then you'd be able to kill me, and probably _would_ for that matter."

She shrugged, "Different strokes. Anyway, I better get back to work and you better go do something else before I change my mind about killing you."

"Yeah," he turned to leave, on his way out the door he glanced back over his shoulder, "See you tomorrow Kaen."

"And the day after, and the day after, and the day after," she muttered under her breath. "I swear, this will be the death of me."


	9. Chapter Eight

Hi again. Okay, here we are. Kaen, Valen, Caito and anyone else I've forgotten belongs to us. The knives belong to me. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

And so, we trudge on. Enjoy...

* * *

So life trudged on, day after day until a year had passed. Oddly enough, despite it's being horribly repetitive, the hours spent torturing Jak became Kaen's favorite pastime. The fondness for the time often left her feeling rather uncomfortable. She often voiced these feelings to Valen, who told her it was just her imagination. It would have been more comforting if he hadn't been smirking as he said it. But, since nothing out of the ordinary happened, Kaen couldn't put her finger on why she felt the way she did. It was only after the one year anniversary that she had begun to get an inkling of why she felt so strange all the time.

Erol slammed Jak's cell shut and glanced over at his partner, a term he was slowly growing more comfortable to use when referring to Kaen. He rolled his neck, causing it to crack. "Do you realize," he began, "That we've known each other for just over a year?"

She looked at him curiously, "Sure. Valen was so kind to inform me yesterday. Time flies when you're having fun."

"True saying," he cocked his head, "I would've thought one of us would be dead by now. This seems like an accomplishment for some reason."

"Well, I'm a psychotic murderer and you are licensed to kill anyone you dislike. Yeah, it's an accomplishment. Doesn't mean we've retained any sort of sanity, though.

"Again, true. But you're implying we had some to start with, which, I personally think, is pushing it," he grinned.

"Point," she stretched, "Ah, those were the good old days. Hatred was hatred, paperwork was paperwork."

"Paperwork's still just paperwork. And it's piling up on me again," Erol shrugged, "I'll do it tomorrow."

"Procrastinator." It felt weird to Kaen, being so civil to him, but rudeness had lost its fun. Another odd feeling.

He shrugged indifferently, "Your point being?"

"Nothing, nothing, nothing," she looked up at a nearby clock, "Wow it's late."

"So it is." He gave her an odd look.

"What? You're looking at me funny," she said, giving him a similar look in return.

He gave her a mischievous grin, "What to go get a drink or two?"

She blinked about eight times. "What?"

"Drinks. At a bar."

"Sorry, I'm still stuck at you saying you'd willingly be seen with me in public."

He shrugged, "It's not like you _look_ weird or anything."

"Weird or not, there's no one within a hundred miles that doesn't know who I am," she smirked, "Are you willing to take the risk of being seen with _me_ of all people?"

He actually thought about it, "Yes."

"Sure," she shrugged, "Why not?" Her eyes narrowed, "It's not raining outside, is it?"

"I believe it is, actually, no surprise there."

She was a lot less excited now. "I'm not going outside. There's no way in hell."

"What's the matter? Afraid to get _wet_?"

"It's just too unnatural. If I were scared of anything, which I'm not, it would be the rain."

He laughed, "Fine if you want to be that way...I'm probably coming in late tomorrow. See you later."

An internal battle ensued. It'd be a new experience, but she'd have to brave the rain. Kaen couldn't decide which was worse. After about a minute, she finally sighed and said, "I suppose I'll go, if there's as little wetness as possible."

"Great. Let me go grab a third person and we'll be on our way."

"Third person?"

"I don't plan on being able to drive, and something says you can't normally, so... We need a third person."

"Oh lord," she closed her eyes at the mental image, "You being drunk. There's a nightmare in the making."

He laughed, "You're probably right about that. Though from what I know, Torn's the worst."

"That's just _funny_."

"At three in the morning, it's not."

She looked astonished, "You were awake at three in the morning? Without a girl?"

"_I_ was sleeping. _He_ was getting wasted. I ended up having to go get him, but I got revenge later, _that_ was fun."

"I don't want to know. Tell me later. I'm already losing the nerve to go outside."

"Don't worry about it. The weather won't hurt you. Now," he glanced around, "We go find Valen."

"Val? Isn't he allergic to alcohol?" Something deep within her memory suggested it, so Kaen assumed it to be true.

"Which makes him perfect for the job."

"Now I'm confused."

Erol rolled his eyes, "Our third person doesn't get to drink. It's hard for some people; Val won't have the temptation to."

Just outside the door, as if waiting for his cue, stood Valen, catching the end of Erol's sentence. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was talking about. "I'd love to!" he called through the door. "When are we leaving?"

"Nice timing Val! You free now?"

"Yeah," he said, still talking through the door. "Did you just ask Kaen ou... I mean, invite her to come with you?"

"Yes, I did. You don't have to sound so surprised."

Kaen gave the door a suspicious look, "What are you planning Valen? I can see that grin through the door."

"Not saying!" the offender said in a sing-song voice. "Are we going then?"

"Yeah, come on." Erol said, gesturing for Kaen to follow him out the door.

"Wait. I nearly forgot something I will forget if I don't do it now." Kaen turned and walked back to her cell.

Erol shrugged and walked out to go stand with Valen.

Rummaging through her things, she finally found what she had barely remembered: knives. For the past two months Kaen's pet project had been creating six calikite eco knives for Erol. They were supposed to be a random gift, just for the heck of it, but she couldn't help noticing that she put more effort into them than any others, not counting hers, of course.

She picked them up and walked back to where she'd been previously standing, "Alright. Remembered, found, and now presented. But where is the recipient?"

Erol glanced back in through the door. "Are you referring to me?"

"No. I meant the goldfish. Of course you! I have something for you."

"Really?" he paused, "Didn't see that coming."

"You never see anything coming," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

He laughed, "Not true, but I'll let it slide."

She sighed again, "If you want them, you better come get them before I keep them for myself."

"Alright, alright," he walked over, now wondering what in the world she had.

Placing each knife down delicately on a nearby table she said, "Your guns were starting to irritate me, so I decided to give you proper weaponry."

He blinked, obviously surprised. He reached out and picked one up, running his gloved fingers over it. "Thanks." He knew it would have taken her quite a long time, and the gesture wasn't lost on him. "Different ecos?"

"Green, red, yellow, blue, light, and dark," she pointed to each weapon in turn.

Erol reached down and un-strapped his gun, and, selecting the knife she'd said was dark eco, swapped them.

"Oh god, what have I done?" Kaen cried in mock horror. "Drunk and armed. I've doomed us all."

"Relax; I doubt I'll use it," he smirked and impulsively put his arm around her shoulders in a sideways hug, "Seriously though, thanks. It must've taken you ages."

"Two months or so. It wasn't hard." She was blushing, why the hell was she blushing? It was only a hug, a simple sideways hug.

Erol looked at her; she was cute when she was embarrassed. He pulled his arm away, blinking rapidly. Where the hell had that thought come from? "So, ready to go?"

"Certainly." The blush seemed to be getting worse since he pulled his arm away. She made a mental note to talk to Valen about it. Maybe he could figure out this mess.

He pretended not to notice the growing red across her cheeks and turned to go join Valen outside the detention center, "Come on."

Valen, who had been listening to the conversation, couldn't help an evil smile. How could he? For a year he had waited for this day and now all his dreams had come true. Oh would Cayden be sorry!

Erol caught Valen's look, "Alright, what's up with you?"

Kaen had reached them, "You know that look. He's predicted something and it's just come true. And he won't tell us until we realize it ourselves."

"Well I can always hope he might divulge me one day," he smirked, "I'm really not surprised that he won't though." Erol had a bad feeling about Valen's expression, the blonde man was grinning like a lunatic.

The psychologist shook his finger back and forth, as if he were scolding a small child. "Now, now, play fair. Are we going to go drinking or not?"

"Of course." Erol pulled a set of keys out of his pocket, "I'll drive, well, on the way there anyway. Come on."

Kaen felt herself revert back to its usual state. This would be the first real time she'd gone out in public. "Let's go," she snapped. People of power always had it hardest.

Valen rolled his eyes, and muttered to Erol, "She's really stressed out."

"No kidding," the commander hissed back. "Wonder what's eating her."

"Put yourself in her place. Anything she does foolishly will be seen as a weakness. Any weakness causes potential rebellion. Saying one word out of place might be the death of her. Plus, she's scared to look like an idiot because she's lived in a literal box since she was three."

"Point. I guess it makes sense." He felt a pang of sympathy for her, no wonder she was stressing out.

Her hands were shaking now. This is no time to stress, she scolded herself. Even if you do make a fool of yourself…Even if it is in front of Er… She stopped her brain short. That was one thought she would not think.

Erol drove to the bar fairly slowly, for him anyway, only ten miles above the legal limit.

His best friend was hanging on to the poor, terrified, girl beside him, "Next time we should warn her! She's never been in a car before! And you're speeding!" He patted Kaen's hand, "I apologize. We're almost there."

Despite her fear, Kaen had enough sense to shoot Erol an extremely dirty look. "I hate you," she snarled at the insane driver, "For the moment, I really hate you."

"Yeah, I'm sure," his tone was uncaring, but he actually slowed down considerably for the rest of the trip.

She relaxed and, by the time they arrived she was totally calm. "Thank you," she said coldly as Valen helped her out. "It was…Interesting.

Erol got out, holding his keys, "Val!"

Valen held out his hand, "Give 'em up. None of us wants to die tonight."

"Very true," Erol passed off the keys. "That's why you're here. Our lives are in your hands," he grinned, "No pressure though."

He stuffed the keys in his pocket. "Nope. Not stressed at all. Now, do you mind us getting out of the rain?"

"Not at all."

Kaen looked at the building fearfully. "Why did I agree to this?"

Erol shrugged, "I don't know. Reverse psychology?"

"Do me a favour and never let me do this again."

Taking her by the arm gently, Valen guided her inside, "Nothing to fear. No one will even notice you're here."

Erol snickered, muttering, "I wouldn't be so sure," under his breath.

"Mark my words – no one will even care if you're here." Valen soothed, firmly believing himself until they entered. Within two seconds, the entire room went silent.

The crime lady gave him a look, "You were saying…?"

The commander smirked, "You certainly emit a presence, don't you?"

"Shut it Erol."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. You're not allowed to talk."

"_Don't_ tell me what I am and am not allowed to do."

"I'm the boss. I _own_ you." Her blush was returning.

"Do you now? I don't remember _that_ turn of events."

"You were born under my hand!" God damn embarrassment!

Erol was enjoying this, slightly, "That's an odd mental image, isn't it? Particularly was I'm _older_ than you."

She picked her brain for a final insult, "You were born a slummer and believe me, despite your age; it _still_ shows."

That wasn't something he appreciated being said in public, but he managed to keep his composure, mostly.

Valen had his head in his hands. This was going both horribly and hilariously. But how to break it up?

As if was, he didn't have to because right at that moment someone else spoke, "Well, well, well. How could the commander dare to abuse the beautiful lady Kaen?"

"Don't make me find my _taser_ Arbner. You know I will." He didn't even have to turn around to know that it was the creep speaking.

"I don't fear you here, Erol. You're spineless outside the palace. But my angel on the other hand…she is great and wondrous!"

Kaen rolled her eyes. Arbner had taken to coming to her room at one in the morning, sitting outside and reciting poetry.

Erol found the eco-knife in his hand in an instant, "At least I don't stalk people every waking moment of my life."

Arbner drew himself up, "Then I challenge you to a duel of sorts. For the lovely lady."

"You're making me sound like a chew toy or a doll," the lovely lady in question grumbled. "And there's no need to fight."

"Certainly there is need to fight! This pathetic excuse for a commander gives me reason to fight. I have a score to settle."

"People! You're causing a scene!" Valen snapped. It was true, people all around were staring. "And I know a solution!"

Arbner quickly recovered from the shock of Valen's sudden outburst. "How so?"

He smiled that smile that could strike fear into the heart of any man. "Do you like to drink Arbner?"  
The other man looked suspicious, "Yes, why?"

"Ever played Ten in Ten and Then?"

Kaen turned to Erol and asked, "What's Ten in Ten and Then?"

Erol grinned, "It's a game. We, me, Val and Torn, made it up."

Valen grinned, "It all started with a glass of water. Now everyone knows it...except for you, that is. I'll explain the rules if Arbner agrees to play."

Arbner narrowed his eyes, "Sure. Revenge will certainly be sweet and...profitable if we settle this with a drinking contest. Shall we?"

"Sure," Erol shrugged, "But forget about winning."

"I won't. I always win when there's important things at stake."

"Again, he's treating me like some sort of chew toy," Kaen complained. "I don't know why, but I'm getting tired of being referred to as an inanimate object."

"Trust me; it's better than being compared to an invertebrate."

"What? When did this happen?"

"I do believe the word 'spineless' implies a missing backbone"

"Oh," she shrugged, "It's an empty threat. Don't bother to throw yourself a pity party."

"I'm not, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Guys!" Valen sighed, "Can you just back off each other for a minute? We're about to start the game."

"Yeah, alright, fine." Erol abruptly realized that he was still holding the knife and gave it an odd look.

Arbner finally noticed the weapon. "What's that for? Slitting your wrists once I beat you?"

Erol was still rather surprised by the fact that the blade was in his hand, "No, I rather prefer fire for self mutilation..." the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Attempting to cover the blunder he glared at Arbner, "It's to gloat over the fact that I have one and you don't."

"Let me guess how you got it though. You probably stole it, just like you take everything else."

"No actually."

Kaen stepped up beside Erol, "He's right. I _made_ the blade for him. Notice how I still haven't made one for you."

Arbner made a sort of choking sound, but said nothing more. Beside him, the shrink was getting extremely impatient, "Let's just sit down and do this people!"

"Right, sorry Val."

"Whatever. Kaen? You sit here, across from Erol," he instructed, gesturing to a nearby table, "Arbner, you sit beside our dear commander and... We're one person short."

"What are we playing?"

"Don't you listen to anything? You guys are playing Ten in Ten and Then."

"Right, I remember that now." Erol glanced around, "We_ do_ need someone else."

A large man stepped forward, "I'll play."

Kaen whirled around to look at him. "What's your name?"

"Scy...Caito."

She gave him a dark look. "You're hiding something." One of her hands dropped instinctively to her knives.

"Everyone's got secrets."

"Some secrets should be revealed. Cough it up."

He crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing.

She gave him one more irritate look, then turned back to Valen and said grudgingly, "We have a fourth player it seems. Let's just get this going."

Valen, always the accepting one, pointed the newcomer to the empty chair, "Okay. Is everyone familiar with the rules? Except Kaen, of course?"

Erol nodded, as did Caito. The game had become fairly well known.

Arbner sneered, "Just do it. I'm ready for some serious revenge."

"Calm down!" Valen growled, angry again. Then he composed himself and continued, "For Miss Kaen's sake, I'll explain how this works. Each person gets ten shots of some liquor or rather. I start the timer. You try to drink all ten shots in ten seconds. Loser has to drink all the leftovers in ten more seconds. Then it starts again until everyone's passed out. Simple enough."

"I say, we use rye for this. It makes things trickier." Erol said, glaring at Arbner.

"Fine," Arbner said with a smile, "I don't really care."

Valen called towards the bar, "Erm... Forty shots of rye I guess!"

Caito cracked his knuckles, "What are the stakes involved here?"

"Well, it seems like me. Anything else?" Kaen looked around at everyone else. "And both of the other boys' pride."

He gave her a cursory up and down glance, "I like pride."

"Thank god. I can only imagine how disturbed poor Arbner would be if he was deluded into thinking anyone else thought me worth fighting for."

Erol laughed looking at Arbner, "I think you'd need to go back in a locker for a time-out or something," he paused, "On second thought, make that a broom cupboard..."

Arbner froze. "You wouldn't dare," he hissed.

"Oh, I would," the redhead sneered, "I _so_ would."

"PEOPLE! ACT MORE MATURE THAN FIFTEEN YER OLDS, WILL YOU?" Valen seemed to have reached a breaking point. "Our poor damsel in distress will become impatient."

"Yeah, what he said." Caito jerked a thumb at Valen, "Let's just get to this."

Valen was still rather grumpy, but forced a cheery air, "Okay. We're still waiting for the drinks...DRINKS!"

A waitress in a skimpy outfit scurried over carrying a tray with an insane number of shot glasses on it. "You had rye, right?" she asked.

"Unfortunately," he muttered, "But we can't have everything in life, can we?"

The waitress gave him an odd look. "You can have anything you want, anytime, just ask." She winked, setting down the tray and left again.

Kaen stared, "Um..."

"Barmaid," Erol said, "That's typical."

"That's _demeaning_."

"Yep," Erol nodded, selecting his shot glasses.

Across the table Caito was doing the same.

Arbner just grabbed greedily, making himself look like more of a fool than he usually did. "Ready to be beaten?"

Erol looked completely unfazed, "By you? I think Val has a better chance beating me," he glanced at the blonde, "No offense."

"None taken. We all know that I'd die if I drank with you."

Kaen poked her shot glasses warily, "This is rather odd. But I suppose I'll have to get used to it."

"Get used to it _fast_; you don't want to be drinking the leftover ones."

"I wasn't really talking about it in that context, but whatever," she glanced over at her shrink, "Valen? Shall we?"

He nodded, "We shall. Everyone ready?"

Both the commander and Caito nodded once. It was obvious that they were the most aware of what they were getting into.

Kaen simply sighed, "If I die, I blame everything on Erol."

"And I swear I will not let you expire!" Arbner vowed, glaring at his glasses. "I am prepared!"

Valen rolled his eyes, "One, two, three...Drink." It wasn't going to be pretty.

Ten seconds passed, Erol glared hatefully at the two remaining shots. He was out of practice.

Caito sat smugly with all empty shots, he smirked, obviously pleased.

Always the loser, Arbner had only managed to down six. Somehow he still retained his self-confidence. Across from him, Kaen had drunk nine of her ten, obviously pleased at beating Erol at one more thing.

"Right. Arbner. You're up again," Valen directed, pointing at the last glasses. "Down they go." Obediently, the man drank them all. "Okay, round two."

And thus it progressed for the next six rounds, each more tense than the last. By the time they'd got to three, Arbner was down for the count and Erol was out at five. Finally defeated, head spinning, Kaen withdrew. "Fine," she snapped best she could, "You win."

"Yes, who-hoo," Caito's lack of enthusiasm was surprising. The man got rather steadily to his feet and walked over to the bar to get a beer.

"Done now?" Erol asked, slowly coming back to consciousness, his words slurring.

"Yes," Valen groaned, tired from watching his friends get wasted. "Kaen out drank you by a mile. And you've been unconscious for the last twenty minutes. Got anything to say for yourself?"

"I got beat by a _girl_?" he sounded disgusted. "Damn."

"Is there something wrong with that?" Kaen was looking, acting, and talking in a way that made her seem almost sober. Almost sober.  
Erol glared at her, "Yes."

"Whatever," she glanced at Valen. "Can we go? My head is starting to hurt."

The commander pushed himself up, not offering any argument; he swayed slightly.

His friend grabbed his arm to steady him, "Come on Erol. Let's get you out of here."

"I'll help," Kaen took the other arm, feeling embarrassed by the other drinker's actions.

"I'm fine," Erol said, attempting to pull his arm away from Kaen.  
"Fine," she said, dropping his arm, "Be that way."

He tripped and nearly fell, grabbing Valen to keep from landing flat on his face.

"Kaen, don't listen to what he says. Just grab his arm and help me drag him out to the car." Valen sighed. The girl did as she was told.

Erol resisted Kaen's grip again, but wasn't able to pull away. If he'd been thinking clearly he would've wondered how Kaen was still so sober. But he wasn't thinking clearly.

The pair dragged Erol out to the car quickly enough. Kaen felt herself slipping, obviously losing her false sobriety. It seemed like her It couldn't take all the alcohol she'd consumed; only her fear of losing control kept her functioning.

The drunken redhead looked at Kaen, "Have I ever told you you're really pretty?" he slurred.

"No" she said warily. "Not when you were in your right mind, at any rate."

"Well, you're _really_ pretty."

Sensing a situation quickly going downhill, Valen hoisted Erol into the back seat. "Sit. Stay." Then he lifted Kaen into the other side, "Don't pass out."

Erol slumped against his seat, staring blankly out at nothing. It vaguely registered that Kaen was with him.

Valen got into the front seat, daring a quick look behind. Erol was staring blankly, but Kaen…had passed out. He had to get them home before something disastrous happened.

Erol noticed _that_. He reached over and pulled Kaen up into a sitting position next to him.

It was getting worse. Valen felt his heart stop. They were still two minutes away!

Erol tilted his head down and did something he never would have if he'd been sober. He kissed her.

"What the…Erol!" Valen gasped. He was just about to pull in. "Oh god."

The drunken commander glanced up at Valen and smirked.

The driver pulled in and jumped out, going for Kaen first. She was partially awake now, blinking sleepily. Valen glared at Erol, "No touch."

Erol ignored this direction and actually gave Valen a bit of a hand getting Kaen out of the car.

"You go wander off to your rooms. I'll get Kaen to hers. I don't think I want you near her right now…or ever if you're wasted," the psychologist's eyes met with his friend's. "It doesn't take a genius to know what's going through your mind even when you're sober."

"Fine be that way…Jerk." He turned and walked unsteadily away, one hand practically glued to the wall for support.

Valen tossed Kaen over his shoulder, making the decision to avoid the detention center and to just stick the girl in his room. It would be safer, he decided, just in case of late night prowlers. That was the last thing he needed.


	10. Chapter Nine

Right, hey...again. Abnormally fast updates right now. Don't expect us to keep this up forever. Kaen, Valen, Cayden, Jance and any other OCs that I didn't mention are ours. The knives are mine. Everything else is Naughty Dog's.

And we continue forward...

* * *

Erol opened his eyes with a moan. His head was pounding. Hangovers sucked. He closed his eyes again, finding even the dim lighting in his quarters to be too much to bear. His entire body was stiff, it seemed he'd only made it to the couch before collapsing; he was going to ache for days. What had he done last night anyway? He could remember Kaen, Arbner, and Ten in Ten…then there was the blackout, the blank.

He groaned and attempted to sit up, but ended up draping himself over the armrest instead. He tried opening his eyes again. They stayed open longer this time, if only through sheer force of will. He glanced around, vision spinning. He looked at his hands and freaked. Both of them were covered up to the elbow in blood.

"Oh god. What did I _do_?" this was not good.

--------------------

Kaen strode into the detention center, showing no sign of the night before's events. Well, mostly none. She had woken up in Valen's room that morning and had asked for the previous night's details. The first words out of his mouth were, "Erol kissed you while you were passed out."

"That self serving, evil, bastard!" She screamed at nothing. "When I see him, I'll…" then she stopped. The tables, the equipment; everything was coated in blood. Deep knife marks showed on the metal. Kaen turned to where Erol's knives had been, but nothing had been touched. What had happened?

--------------------

Erol couldn't remember, not even a flicker. His gloves were stiff with caked on blood. A wave of nausea hit him and he fought the urge to vomit. By the taste in his mouth, he already had, multiple times. What the hell had he been doing?

He stripped off his gloves and shirt, disgusted but not overly surprised that his skin was stained crimson as well. With the amount of blood on his clothes there was no way some wouldn't have soaked through. It didn't stop his surge of fear. With that much blood…he shuddered at the thought.

Movement was only making his headache worse and he grimaced in pain. Muttering an angry curse at himself he walked to the bathroom to go clean up. He stepped on something on his way there. Bending down, a movement that sent his vision out of focus for a few minutes, he picked up the item. It was the eco-knife he'd been carrying the previous night. It too, was covered in dried blood, from blade to hilt; the entire thing was stained scarlet. He tentatively clicked the button on the end. It was empty too.

He started to feel sick again and when he entered the bathroom, no more than ten seconds had passed before he was leaned over the counter, throwing up into the sink.

Just then, Valen knocked on the door to Erol's quarters. After a long, deep discussion with himself, he'd decided to tell his friend about his actions the night previous. Best to prepare him for whatever Kaen said. "Open up," he muttered, rapping his knuckles against the door. Usually he would just walk in, but he did have to be considerate when someone had a hangover.

Erol groaned, still positioned over the sink. He _really_ did not want to talk to anyone right now. He said nothing, hoping whoever it was would just go away.

When there was no answer, Val decided to just let himself in. "Erol? Oh dear Romeo, stealer of women's hearts? Where are you?" A funny smell was coming from the bathroom. He wrinkled his nose at the smell, disgusted by the mental images that accompanied it.

Still Erol attempted to ignore Valen, though he was forced to admit, that comment had sparked his interest. He turned on the tap to rinse out the sink, and again wondered what he'd been doing while being controlled by liquor.

The psychologist poked his head into the bathroom, "Yeah, I thought I should... WHAT DID YOU DO?" he exclaimed, seeing the blood coating his friend's body.

Erol was forced to look at him then; "You mean you don't know either?" he looked scared, "I'm assuming it involved this." He picked up the eco knife from where it was lying on the counter.

Valen whistled, "Oh lord. You've gotten yourself into some deep trouble again, haven't you? Kaen's going to gut you."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm not having a hard enough time dealing with this _without _that factor; you just had to throw that in there!" Erol snapped and put a hand to his head, cringing in agony.

"Well she's already going to kill you, no matter what you've done on top of it. She's on a warpath."

"I have no doubt that I deserve it. I can't remember a bloody thing after Arbner passed out. What'd I do?"

"Well, Kaen out drank you, so you got mad. Then I hauled you out to the car and watched her dignifiedly sit down. Then she passed out as I was driving, you pulled her up close and," he paused, "kissed her."

"Please tell me you just made that up."

"Nope," he said cheerfully, forgetting about everything but the horrible memory that gave him so much pleasure, "Full on the lips. _After_ telling her you thought she was really pretty."

"Oh god..."

"Yep. Now we have to ask ourselves how much of that was in earnest..."

"None of it."

Valen raised an eyebrow, "Really? Are you sure about that?" How much, he wondered, had Erol admitted even to himself?

"Fairly sure."

"Okay." Apparently not much. "But in any case, Kaen doesn't know that. I've never seen her looking so angry."

"Do you know where my gun is? I need to shoot something," Erol sighed, "Namely my head."

"In the detention center, I believe. I'd suggest taking a shower first. You look like you just murdered someone."

"Thanks, I wasn't aware." Erol stared at the palms of his hands. "Who says I didn't?"

"I do. You don't have the look of fresh killer in your eyes. Only... Well, bloodlust is a bit harsh, but something along those lines."

"I guess that's slightly comforting."

"Well, I've done my duty. I see you later, if you aren't decapitated or anything."

"Yeah," he sighed again, "See you later if I'm still alive for it."

Valen laughed as he left, "I wouldn't really worry. But I still say get in, out and stay hidden for a month." And then he was gone.

Erol sighed and glanced at the shower. He had a feeling that he'd be seeing a lot more of his apartment for a while...

--------------------

"HE'S LATE!" An hour had passed since Kaen had arrived at the detention center and her partner still hadn't shown his miserable face. "I swear I'm going to kill him!" She whirled around to face Jance's cell, "Hey! You! Jance! What happened? Where's your idiotic, demented brother?"

Jance leaned back against the wall of his cell, looking very smug. An expression not often seen on his face. "Don't worry, he'll show up. I bet he only woke up recently. He's gonna have one hell of a hangover. If you feel like trying to torture him I suggest screaming at him the moment he walks in," he paused, picking dirt from under his nail, "After what he did last night, I must say he deserves it."

She nearly ran to his cell. "What did he do?"

He glanced around, "Well, he's responsible for the mess."

"_No_. Come on Jance. Spit it out. I'll let you out if you do. Show me what he did so I can kill him for it."

He considered it, "I'd rather not watch you kill my brother, but I can show you."

"Fine. Could you please show me then?" she said, unlocking the door even as she spoke.

Jance got up and stretched his extremely thin frame, "Okay," he walked past her. And walked to the cell Jak was kept in. "That."

"That what?" She followed him and glanced into the other prisoner's cell. It took her a moment or two to register what had happened. "How in the world..."

"Same way you do it to me. You teach him that or something?" Jance looked at Jak curled up in the corner of the cell, "He's got amazingly neat printing for being so hammered at the time. Heck, I think that's neater than he is when he's sober."

The mess inside was just as horrible as out. It seemed that Erol had decided to carve some of his pet names for Jak into the kid's back. Along with other things, nothing looking very distinct other than the words. "I'm really going to kill him when he gets here."

"What else did he do?"

"Um...It's awkward, really..."

Jance raised an eyebrow at her, the family resemblance to Erol nearly apparent, "Now I_ really_ want to know."

"Well, if you have to know... Your dear brother kissed me last night."

He started to laugh, hysterically. "You're kidding!"

"Unfortunately, I'm not. I truly wish that I was, though. When he gets here, I'm going to..." she stopped, unable to think of anything worse than she'd already thought.

Jance said something, but it seemed incoherent mixed in with the laughter.

"SHUT UP!"

He managed to stop laughing long enough to say, "That was actually a jab at my little twerp brother, not you."

"Oh. Well then, that's alright. But where is he?"

"I don't know, but you'd better hope that he doesn't come in while I'm out, otherwise you'd have a hell of a lot of explaining to do. In fact you might have to call it a draw."

"Point taken. If you wouldn't mind heading back to your cell and locking the door Jance. It'll make our next chat a lot less painful."

"Fine," he obediently began to head back to his cell. At the doorway he paused and looked back at her, "I'd really prefer if you didn't actually _kill_ Erol. If not for the obvious reason then because you two are the most amusing thing I've seen in a long time." With that the heavily scarred man slipped back into his cell and locked himself back in. A moment later there was the sound of Jance slamming his head against the cell wall and a loud angry cry of "GOD DAMMIT!"

She shook her head. "Half the time I actually think you enjoy living her. And don't worry. I won't kill Erol. He's too important to this operation."

Jance gave her no reply and seconds later there was the sound of boots on the detention center floor.

"I'm going to gut him," she muttered, "He's late, he tortured a valuable prisoner outside of work time, and he _kissed_ me." It was like a mantra in her mind.

She was pissed, Erol could tell. This was _not_ going to be good. He considered just turning around and leaving, but that would only make things worse. He sighed.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she snarled, eyes blazing.

He shrugged, "I have no idea," his golden eyes cast about, searching for something to look at other than her. He couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. He wished he could, seeing the amount of blood spread throughout the detention center was freaking him out.

"Do you know what you did Erol? Can you realize the severity of what you've done?"

"What are you referring to? The obvious assault that took place? Or the kiss that Valen was talking about?"

"I was talking about this!" she snapped, pushing him towards Jak's cell. "I can't believe that you, even you, Erol, would do such a thing."

"Oh god," he felt weak, "Neither can I. Though it explains a bit."

For some reason, seeing him, hearing him…It was making her blood boil. True that his mutilation of Jak was similar to hers with Jance, yet it was different. Less humane somehow. "What would possess you to do this?"

"I have no idea." Excuses were beyond him.

"I should kill you right now," she forced him to look in her general direction. "I'm disgusted with you."

He refused to look directly at her. He wished that he could just give her a reason for his actions. Just one, but he had no idea. "Sorry."

Kaen drew back her hand and slapped him with as much energy as she could muster.

Erol didn't even wince, he deserved it.

"Well, now that's out of the way, onto question two. What possessed you to…to…_kiss_ me?"

"I have even less idea about that than I do about mutilating Jak."

"Okay…What about that compliment you so kindly paid me?"

"Was that the…uh…'pretty' thing? Or did I say something else?"

"That. Just that."

"Well," he shifted uncomfortably, "It's true, but…forget it."

"What?!" Had he just called her pretty? No one would be that thick.

"Never mind. I didn't…Dammit."

It was apparent that the slap hadn't vented all her anger. Pulling back her arm once more, Kaen let fly her most powerful punch into Erol's jaw.

He cringed and swore, rubbing his cheek. He'd have another one of her infamous bruises. Back to square one.

"Just…" she couldn't speak she was so hurt and angry.

"Go ahead, do it again," he actually looked at her, "I know you want to."

So she did, but softened the blow at the very end. Her anger was gone, sapped out of her.

He turned away, "Right, well, I'm going now."

"Thank god. I hope I can manage not to see you again."

Erol glanced back for a moment, holding out the empty eco-knife, "I think I should give you this back."

She shook her head, "Those are yours. Keep it Erol. I won't take what doesn't belong to me."

"Fine." Erol turned back around and walked away. As he passed the table with his remaining knives he dropped off the weapon. He had no use for it anymore.

She turned from the scene, watching blood trail down her arms. No, she had not hurt anyone to the point that they bled that day. It was her mental blood, a left over from every death she'd caused. So why was it showing up now?

He wanted to melt into the walls, just disappear. Other members of the guard were giving him strange looks. He slipped into his quarters and locked the door. What the hell was he going to do now? And why did he feel like he was losing something important?

His gaze traveled to the stack of paperwork on his desk. Well, at least he had an answer to _one_ of his questions.

--------------------

Down in Black Ops, Valen was facing a very uncomfortable situation. Through the grapevine, Cayden had heard of the previous night's events and wasn't taking it very well.

"That filthy little slime ball _dared_ to even lay a finger on her?" the huge man shouted. "Why didn't you stop him?"

Valen sighed, "I would've killed us all. Now look Cayden, this isn't as bad as it looks."

"Not as bad? Not as bad! I've spent most of my life protecting young Miss Kaen and you manage to ruin it all in one night! The last thing she needs is romance!"

"As guys go, Erol's not all that bad. He's actually pretty sweet…"

Cayden jumped up, "The only reason you're saying that is because, for the past twenty years, you've been in love with him!"

The pair fell silent, the insult still ringing through the space. Finally Valen spoke, "I won't deny it. Part of me does still love him, unrequited of course, but I won't let it get in the way of my two closest friends' happiness."

"Sorry for sayin' that," the huge man patted Valen's shoulder, "I'm just angry is all. I over stepped my boundaries. And you're right – Kaen does deserve joy. I just don't trust him."

The psychologist stared at the ground, "He loves her more than I imagined possible. It's true that he kissed her while he was drunk, but it's not like he wouldn't have done it when he was sober. There are times I'm surprised he's never even _hugged_ her yet. He doesn't even bother to hide what's going on in his head."

"So what should we do? From what you said, Kaen is infatuated to the point of being murderous."

"Yes. She too has trouble admitting her love aloud. Even if she was passed out, she was morally offended at his touching her. She'll never want to speak to him again."

"So we're safe?"

"In a month she'll be more in love with him than ever."

"Damn."

The pair fell silent once more, both wondering how to monitor the out-of-control situation. After a while, the duo said at the same time, "We'll install come cameras until the situation improves."

--------------------

In his cell, recovering from his bought of rage at himself, Jance looked over at Kaen. "Slick one, seriously. I think you broke my brother."

"I almost feel sorry for him."

"I do. I haven't seen him like that since he moved out."

With a sigh, Kaen went over, unlocked Jance's cell and sat down inside, "Why does he have to be so stupid?"

"Cause that's just how he is."

"Do you mind if I rant for a while?"

"No go ahead. Where?"

"Face, I guess. But I want to rant aloud too."

He pulled his hair back, "Fine."

"Alright," she whipped out a knife and began to rant, slicing as she went, "Your brother is the most self centered, egotistical, evil, worthless, spineless, pathetic, waste-of-time that's ever walked this earth! I mean, it was bad when I first met him, but it's only got worse! Next time I see him I'll murder him. After that stunt he pulled…next he'll be saying that he's in love with me," she'd forgotten that she was speaking aloud. "I mean, I wouldn't complain if he did say something like that, but still. This is a goddamn soap opera! It's not that I care or anything, but…God! Did he have to do what he did? This is so confusing! It was better when we hated each other! Why didn't Valen stop him? Why can't I remember it? How did this happen? And why am I seeing that mental blood on my hands?" her cuts became more frantic. "I never care about anyone or anything, just like no one cares about me. Love is foreign even if – no! I will not let my mind go there. Even if I did harbor feelings for Erol I wouldn't be able to show them! He'd laugh at me, hate me, tell me he was just joking and I'm a worthless freak! I HATE HIM!" she began to carve a shape into Jance's face, over and over, though she couldn't place what it was. "Why can't this just be simple?" Kaen stopped, pulling the knife away. "Thanks," she said, "I needed that."

Jance clapped his hands to his face, hunching over into a semi-fetal position, "Anytime," he rasped.

"It really is a soap opera Jance. Anyway, I'll see you later. Have a nice day. If you need me, I'll be in my cell slitting someone else's wrists."

"Yeah, see you." He glanced up briefly, "You know where to find me."

"Yeah. See you." With a wave of her hand, Kaen left the cell.

"Hey, Kaen," Jance looked at her, blood streaming down his cheek, "Did you just put _hearts_ in my face?"

There was no reply.


	11. Chapter Ten

YAY FOR UPDATING FUN! (Except not really). This coming week, I'll be gone, so the rate of updates will go down. Just so you know.

Kaen, Valen, Ripp, Jance, the Gardener and any other OCs that I didn't mention are ours. The knives are mine. Everything else is Naughty Dog's.

Blah blah blah...

* * *

"Another day working alone. Maybe I shouldn't have told him to never show his miserable face here again," Kaen said, checking over the equipment. "Don't you agree Jak?" The teen made no reply of course, but she continued as if he had, "Yeah. Not my smartest move ever. This is a rather tedious job to do on your own for a whole month. Time sure flies, huh? Oh lord. I'm talking to myself again." She adjusted one more knob and then pressed the button that started the machine. "Not that you really care, since you can't even understand what I'm saying. Well, made you can, I don't know. You look bright, but you can never really tell, can you?"

"I'm sure he's bright Kaen. You wouldn't waste your time with someone who wasn't."

She closed her eyes. Ever since the night at the bar, Arbner had not left her alone for more than two hours. Day and night, he was there by her side, the ever loyal puppy dog. Only, there was something much more sinister about it now, as if his mental state had changed. "Go away Arbner," she snapped, "I don't have time for you."

"Yes you do. You always have time on your hands, especially now that that disastrous commander isn't around." The man slid his arm around her shoulders, "I don't think I'm really interrupting anything."

"Can't you think of anything else to do but bug me?"

"No. There's nothing in the world that gives me more joy than to be with you," he whispered in her ear. "Don't you agree?"

A chill ran down her spine. "Get out of here," she shrugged his arm off, "I have some paperwork to do."

"No you don't. You've finished all two thousand nine hundred and ninety three pages of it. All you need are the three release papers. I can get them for you, you know."

"Only the commander can give them to me."

He smiled, "But we all know Erol won't give them to you. He wants to keep you here for as long as he can. Then he doesn't have to get his hands dirty and can blame anything that goes wrong on you."

He smiled, "But we all know Erol won't give them to you. He wants to keep you here for as long as he can. Then he doesn't have to get his hands dirty and can blame anything that goes wrong on you."

She turned back to the machine. He was right, she knew. Erol would never give them to her. If only Arbner wasn't a pathological liar – then she might have some hope of getting out of a place that was slowly but surely becoming hell once more.

"Leave her alone Arbner," a familiar and distinct voice commanded, "She's got better things to do than have you waste her time."

She groaned, "Of all people on this planet, did you have to be the one to come save me from this thing?" She pointed to Arbner at the word 'thing'.

Erol shrugged, "Well, I could always go back and do something else and leave you at his mercy. Your choice."

"Screw off."

Arbner smile widened, "Feeling hurt and abandoned Erol? Locked in a dark room at the mercy of people far more powerful than you?"

"You'd be awfully familiar with that feeling wouldn't you? 'Fraid I've got no idea what you mean. I'm hardly at anyone's mercy."

"We'll see about that," Arbner started off towards the door, "See you darling. I'll be back later."

"Bastard," Erol hissed.

Kaen was decidedly not pleased to see him - outwardly at least. "I'm used to him. After all, he's here over twenty hours a day, following me around."

"I can only imagine." It was weird to be back in the detention center, _really _weird.

"Not until you see it." She pressed the button again. "So, what are you doing here? I thought you decided not to show your face in public ever again."

He shrugged again, "I thought I should check up on the project. Seems you're managing quite well without me. Besides," he laughed, "I'm out of paperwork."

Don't feel alone on that one. So am I. Except," she paused to glare, "For those three pages."

A smile nearly formed on his lips, nearly, "I have no clue what you mean."

"Liar. Maybe Arbner is right." It seemed odd in her mouth, putting the words 'Arbner' and 'Right' in the same sentence.

He blinked, looking utterly confused. "That sentence makes no sense. It's an oxymoron. 'Arbner' and 'right' contradict each other."

"Well, oxymoron or not, it would make sense what he said."

"What sort of lies has he been attempting to feed you?"

"I haven't decided whether or not they're lies. He said you're probably not giving me the papers so I can't leave. If I can't leave, then, when this project fails, you can pin the entire disaster on me."

"I wouldn't do that!" the words came out more emphatically than he'd intended.

She raised an eyebrow, "Mhmm. Why don't I believe you?"

"Name me one instance where I've lied to you."

"Um...Not off the top of my head. But you must have at some point. Everyone lies."

"Why would I bother to? It just complicates things in the long run."

"I don't know. Val's the shrink, not me. Can you just go away?" A moment ago, she would have been pleased to see him, but not now. Jak's back and the state of the detention center still were clear in her mind. There was no redemption for a stunt like that, drunk or not.

He nodded gravely, "Fine. I was just seeing how and what you were doing without me. I guess I'll be on my way."

"Good. Great. Just..."

"Just what?"

She pressed the button again. "I didn't know a month ago, I don't know now."

"What?" Now he was genuinely confused.

"I don't know!"

"Okay, okay!" He turned around, "If you want me, not that I think you will, ever, I'll be in my quarters."

She didn't bother replying.

-----------------------

Erol walked through the hallways, even after a month, it still felt weird to have free time. He went back to his rooms.

What did he plan to do? He was months ahead of his paperwork. He decided to check, he might have missed something.

There was just one thing he hadn't done anything with. He couldn't bring himself to. Kaen's release forms. He picked them up gingerly, as though afraid of them, and read through them, even though he already had them memorized. Over the past few weeks he'd read over them so many times, contemplating on what he should do.

'Why don't you just do it?' a voice in his mind asked.

"Because," he muttered out loud, "I can't."

'Why not?'

"I need her. I can't keep doing this without her."

'That could have two meanings there Lover Boy, clarify this.'

"You're the one in my mind, you tell me."

'No.'

"This is nuts."

'You're the one talking to yourself, not me.'

Erol let out a growl of irritation, "Leave me alone, would you?"

'No,' the voice was beginning to remind Erol of a certain blonde psychologist. 'Not until you clarify your reasoning for this.'

"Fine!" Erol snapped to thin air. "I need her because I lo-"

'Whoa! Are you sure you want to admit to that, out loud?' the voice interrupted, a feat which hardly seemed possible.

"No one's around."

'Are you _ready_ to admit that? Put your personal feelings aside. If you can rationalize keeping the poor woman here from a perspective without any social life reference I'll let it slide.'

"Fine. Piece of cake." Erol contemplated, "She knows all about the program."

'Not good enough. You do too.'

"The fewer people who know what we're up to the better."

'You could do this yourself. It doesn't have to take two.'

"Shut up, you're making this hard." Erol shook his head, unable to believe that he was holding an honest-to-God conversation with himself. "Black Ops will get out of control."

'No, she owns them. She can control them wherever she is. You're running out of options.'

"Dammit," Erol snarled, he'd already run out excuses.

'You lose. Sign the papers. Let her go.'

He sighed and picked up a pen. Filling in all of the information he scrawled his name everywhere it needed to go. There. She was free. He stood up, papers in hand and headed for his door, each step agony. He was about to lose her for good.

-----------------------

Kaen was back in her own cell, leaning her head against the wall. Arbner had come to pay another visit and she had taken refuge behind the huge steel door. "This is driving me insane," she muttered. "And I can't even escape it. Why does Erol have to be so stubborn?"

Erol walked into the detention center, holding the release papers. He glanced around, where was she?

Footsteps outside. Apparently her stalker hadn't given up. "LEAVE ME ALONE ARBNER!" she yelled through the door. "I'M NOT COMING OUT ANY TIME SOON!"

"That creep came back did he?" Erol asked, surprised by her sudden outburst. At least he knew where she was now, her cell.

"Oh. It's you," she recognized the voice as Erol's, "I told you he spends almost every waking hour up here trying to convince me to go off with him. So I hole up in here. What can I do for you?"

"Well," he paused, "You could come out for starters."

"Is he out there?"

"Not as far as I can tell."

"Alright." She made herself walk over to the door and open it, not liking the situation one bit. A quick scan told her that Arbner wasn't there and probably hadn't been for some time. She took three small steps out of her cell; then stopped.

Erol made up the rest of the distance. "Here," he held out the papers and he felt his cheeks go red.

Her heart stopped. There they were, sitting in front of her, waiting to be snatched away. Those papers held her life and freedom. "Are you joking...?" she couldn't help but whisper it as she took the papers from him.

He went a darker shade of red. Why was he blushing? He _never_ blushed. "No. I'm not."

"Are you blushing?" The redness was becoming very apparent.

"Shut up."

"Just a question." She held the papers out in front of her. "Is this some sort of peace treaty?"

"Make it into whatever you want. You're free."

She could have hugged him right there and then. This was her ticket back home. It was everything she'd ever wanted. Yet, it wasn't. "Are you sure you want to give these to me? I'll make your job a lot harder, you know, if I'm free."

"Believe me, I'm aware of it." Goddamn blush, what the hell was going on?

"Okay. Then I guess I'll be seeing you later. It's time for me to go. Get out of your hair, so to speak."

"Yeah. See you." He spun on his heel and began to walk away, begging the redness in his face to leave quickly.

Kaen turned back to her cell, imagining all that lay before her. The s suddenly seemed very flimsy. "I've got to go. I need to go home." So, without taking a single thing, she turned around and headed for the door.

"Oy!" Jance shouted at her from his cell.

"Yeah?"

"You weren't going to leave without saying bye were you?"

"Of course not." Jance was worth a goodbye, so she turned back and went to his cell. "Are you going to miss me?"

"I think I will."

She smiled, "Well, I'll miss you to. It was nice talking to another person who's completely insane. But I do have to leave."

"Damn."

"Your poor brother can't deal with me forever, nor I with him. It'll be best if we both part ways."

Jance sighed, "Well, this is going to suck. I'll have no one to talk to now. Seeing as Erol's still unaware that I'm here."

"You could tell him, I suppose. He can't do anything to me now I'm gone."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, that'd go over well."

"Nothing goes over well with Erol. Even getting rid of me didn't seem to have reaction I was expecting. I'm almost disappointed."

"I've never seen him blush before, particularly not that bad. He was a real 'crimson' guard. How'd you get him to do it?"

"No idea. It was like he was embarrassed to be seen with me," she shrugged, "Some things I will never understand."

Jance laughed, "I get it now."

"Explanation please?"

"I don't think you want it."

"Tell me Jance." He usually didn't withhold information this long. It had to be important.

He grinned, "Nope."

"Tell."

"You won't believe me if I do."

"Just _tell_."

"He's _really_ going to miss you. If he was a dog he'd be pining for days. He didn't want to do that," Jance smirked, "It's like the saying goes, if you love someone; you've got to let them go."

Of all the answers in the world, that was both the first and last one she was expecting. "I'm going now. See you Jance." Without a backward glance, she was gone.

She was heading to the slums before she even realized it. Kaen cold still hear Jance's words, each syllable throbbing in her ears. If there was anyone who could help her, it was Ripp. For the past year he'd been an informer, an advisor and a confidante.

The trip down there seemed different than it ever had before. Everything seemed more closed, tighter together, locked away. As she turned into the infamous alley, Kaen couldn't help but wonder if this was what life was like as a free person.

Ripp practically materialized out of the shadow, "Hey, I thought that was you."

"Unfortunately. Can you sit and listen to me for a while?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well. Let's start at the very beginning." Thus the tale began, taking well over an hour to recite. Kaen's voice became more and more frantic with each passing second, until she finally reached the end, "And then Jance said, 'He's_ really_ going to miss you. If he was a dog he'd be pining for days. He didn't want to do that. It's like the saying goes, if you love someone; you've got to let them go."

Ripp had patiently listened to the whole thing, not saying a word. He chewed his lip, trying to figure out how to respond to that. "Well," he began, "This obviously got to you, right? So, do you agree with him?"

"Which him?"

"Jance, would you say he was accurate?"

"I don't know. I mean..._Love_?"

"You know Erol well enough, I'd assume. Do you think he acts like it?"

"I don't know. I'm not a psychologist. Why would he fall in love with something like me?"

"It could happen. Maybe you should ask Valen."

"I'm not going back to the palace. I'm going back home."

"He'd probably do a house call for you."

She grinned, "Sure. If he comes to visit, he'll drag Erol with him. I swear; the man lives to make me miserable."

Ripp shrugged, "Fine, don't ask him. It's your situation. Though from what I know, I'd have to say," he paused, trying to word this so he wouldn't freak her out more than she was, "I think I'm rather inclined to agree with Jance."

She blinked. "Is it that obvious?"

"I think so. Torn might not notice, but, well... I think that explains itself."

"Well that's Torn." She looked down at her hands. "I'm confused Ripp. I don't know what to do. I thought he liked that girl down at the stadium."

Ripp shook his head, "Scythe's seen them," he wrinkled his nose, "There's nothing there."

"Oh. Is that a relief?"

"Well, that's rather subjective, isn't it?" Ripp paused, thinking again.

"True," she sighed, "I wish this wasn't happening."  
"Are you sure about that?"

"No, but it makes me fell better."

He sighed, "I'm really no good at this sort of thing," he reached back and ran his fingers over the back of his neck like he always did when he was agitated.

"Am I being overburdening again?" she asked, noticing the action.

"No," his speed increased somewhat, "I'm just not sure what to say anymore."

"Well, thanks for listening at the very least. I think it's time I got home."

"Anytime, I guess," he lowered his hand and adjusted the bandanna around his neck.

She gave him a quick hug and left. Even her advisor didn't know what to do about this situation. Maybe, just maybe, she could find the answers at home.

-----------------------

Erol had no idea what to do with himself anymore; he'd just given Kaen her freedom. He'd never have to deal with her again, so why did it _hurt_?

He aimlessly wandered the hallways, he briefly considered heading down to the stadium, but he was definitely not in the mood to deal with Keira.

At the end of one hallway, Valen stood conversing with another guard. Until he spotted Erol, that is. The moment the other man was in view, he took off down the hallway, "Oy! Erol!"

The commander stopped and waited for Valen to catch up to him, "Hey."

Valen finally caught up, grabbed Erol's shoulders and shook him vigorously. "Why haven't you done anything yet?! You're losing her!"

Erol's hand was up about to slap Valen in a backhand across the face before he was aware of moving. He caught himself before making contact though. "Shut up Valen."

"Well sorry! I'm just having trouble with the idea you _let her go_!"

"I hadn't guessed," Erol snapped, "It's better this way." He shrugged Valen's hands off him.

"I just don't want you to lose the woman you love."

"Yeah? Well, I did, _alright_?! She's gone and that's all there is to it!"

"So you admit to loving her?"

"What?! No! I-" Erol could feel himself losing this fight, "Dammit."  
"It'll make it easier if you say it aloud."

"No," he pushed Valen away from him, but there was little force in the action, "You're not helping me. At all."

"Whatever," the psychologist backed off, "Our tracers have followed Kaen to her family manor. I'm worried – a young woman running this city alone… Power corrupts. By letting her go you might have just lost what you love most."

"I already have Val," Erol spun around, "I already have."

Valen looked his friend in the eye, "Don't give up. I'm mostly trying to guilt you. She won't stay away long, not with you still here."

He didn't reply and began to walk away, Valen had never been wrong…but there was always a first time for everything.

-----------------------

The house loomed high above her, cold and daunting. A square city block, this mansion had been in her family's possession since the city began. Kaen felt her stomach churn at the very sight of it. She longed for the detention center suddenly, wishing to be back in the safety of her cell. But this was a monster she would eventually have to face.

Climbing the steps seemed to take a century. Upon reaching the top, Kaen opened the door. No alarms went off, a bad sign. The great hall, the first room in the great manor, had over an inch of dust layering everything. "Home sweet home," she muttered.

"Who's there?" a creaky voice came from above. "Who's come prowling about?" Kaen looked up to see an ancient gardener standing there.

"I'm Kaen." Best to tell the truth, since he was bound to listen to his boss more than a mysterious visitor.

The man's eyes widened, "Miss Kaen? You're home at last? Oh happy day! Come on, come on! I'll show you to your rooms." He beckoned with a wrinkled hand.

Seeing no harm in it she followed him upstairs to what she knew was her parents' old living area. "Have you been here long? Is there anyone else?"

"No Miss. Only me. I fired everyone else. No need to employ thieves in this noble place. Are you planning on staying long?"

She sighed, "I don't know. I really don't know."

They turned another corner and started towards a set of double doors. It was her new rooms. "Here we are," the old man wheezed, "If you need anything, I'll be in the conservatory." He waddled away.

Now alone, Kaen faced the doors. This was it, this was finally it. She pushed the doors open gently, the hinges giving a protesting creak. The room was huge, beautiful and filled with hate.

Kaen blinked her eyes tiredly. It wasn't even dinner time and she was ready to go to sleep. "Got to keep my strength up, I guess," she mumbled, "No time like the present for a nap." Closing the doors behind her, the young crime lady walked over and collapsed onto the bed, where she slept for the next fifteen hours straight.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Yet another insanely fast update...You know the drill. Arbner, Valen and Kaen are ours as are any not mentioned OCs. Knives are mine. Erol is Naughty Dog's.

So, without any further ado...Chapter Eleven.

* * *

Erol walked through the hallways, his expression dark. It was only the day after Kaen's release and already all of the city's papers had it as their headline. The gang mistress was back. Erol tried not to think about it, think about her. It wasn't going to be easy, whether she was there or not, he still had to continue with the Dark Warrior Program.

"Look who it is. Is Lover Boy depressed?" Arbner's mocking voice came from behind. "Lost? Alone?"

"What the hell do _you_ want? Can't stalk Kaen so you've decided on me now?"

"No. I just wanted to give you a little gift," Arbner walked in front of the commander, blocking his path, "You'll appreciate it."

Erol's hand dropped to his gun, it wasn't there. He'd never gotten it back after that night. He slipped his other hand into his pocket; he'd taken to carrying his taser again as of late. "I highly doubt that."

Handing Erol a newspaper, the other man smiled, "Since you'll never see her again, I thought I might give you a little shred of comfort. They make mention of you too."

The commander glared at Arbner, fuming.

"Listen to this part, '…Commander Erol, who worked with Miss Kaen on one of her many top secret projects. He denied comment, but an informer was quoted in saying, "I think he loves her. Shame that he had to sign the papers that let Miss Kaen go. But he had no chance really, being a slummer and all." Is this true? Could the commander actually be in love with this beautiful crime lady?'" Arbner's smile widened. "Isn't that sweet?"

Erol's fist connected with Arbner's jaw, a force that sent the other man to the floor. He whipped out the taser. "Shut the hell up," he slammed his foot down onto Arbner's chest, "One more word out of you and," he brandished the weapon, "I'm sure you remember this."

"So you are in love with her? Sorry slummer boy – she's going to end up with someone with class. Kaen doesn't give a damn if you live or die."

That was _it_. Erol dropped down and cut off any physical contact with the man. He placed the taser to Arbner's neck and began to zap him violently. "Shut up!" he shouted, "Shut up!" his golden eyes were blazing, he didn't care if he killed Arbner, he wouldn't care.

"Stop!" it was Valen's commanding voice, "Erol stop!"

Erol glanced up, pulling the taser away from his victim's fleshy neck. "What's the point?"

"Well, I just thought I'd tell you…something."

Erol stood, stepping away from the spasming man, "What?"

"Erm…I don't know why…"

"Come on, just tell me. I was busy."

"Kaen's upstairs. In the detention center. It took me a minute to recognize her, but I can vouch for who it is. It was so…weird."

"She's _back_?" Erol looked genuinely confused, "Seriously?"

"Upstairs. She said something about your incompetence. A word of warning though – she's dressed very differently."

Erol shrugged, "Like that'll make a difference," he glanced at a nearby clock, "I should probably get up there now…I was on my way there anyway."

"And I'll get this poor man to the infirmary. See you later." Valen flung the fallen man over his shoulder and walked off.

-----------------------

When he arrived at the detention center, Erol stopped, feeling suddenly unsure. What was he supposed to say to her? Telling himself that he was being stupid, he walked in. His breath caught, Valen hadn't been lying; she was there. "Kaen…"

"Very nice. You can recognize me even dressed like an idiot."

He could've kissed her, but that would only make things awkward between them again. "Yeah. What are you doing here?"

"Saving you from humiliation. Plus the gardener is selecting stuff today and you can never be too careful," she laughed, "Getting shot doesn't sound like fun. Anyway, I can't run in high heels."

Erol glanced at her feet, "I can't imagine many people can."

"They hurt even when I'm not running. I wish I had my boots."

"Where are they anyway? Why are you even dressed like _this_?"

"The gardener stole my stuff and incinerated it. So I'm stuck in a business suit and high heels. It doesn't help that it's a suit with a _skirt_," she made a face.  
"Well you're still," he broke off before allowing the rest of that thought to pass. He was _not_ about to say _that_.

"Still what?"

"Never mind."

Kaen sighed, "Whatever. I'll never understand you, I swear. Tough and bitchy one minute, blushing the next," she shrugged, "You confuse me."

"I do _not_ blush! Often…"

"You looked like someone had started a fire on your face last time I saw you."  
"Yeah? Well…" he trailed off _again_. "I have no explanation for that."

"Don't worry. It was cute, in a little kid sort of way."

He gave her a weird look, "Did you just call me _cute_?"

"Umm, yeah. Got a problem with that?"

He shrugged, "Not really. It's just weird."

"Alright, if it offends you, I'll change it to 'dorky,'" she said, poking his chest, "That better?"

"No, not really. I never said it offended me," it felt good to argue, even jokingly, with her. He'd missed this, just being with her. He wanted to hug her, but he swiftly repressed the urge.

"But you _implied_ it."

"You saying something like that's just weird. You didn't take it well when I said you were beautiful." Dammit, he'd originally said 'pretty' now he'd upgraded to 'beautiful.' She was going to kill him.

Never before had a blush appeared so fast. "We should probably start the process," she muttered, staring at the ground.

"Right," she really was cute when she was blushing. Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts he went to go get Jak from his cell.

Kaen sat down on a nearby bench and removed those horrible shoes. This romance stuff was taking a serious toll.

"By the way," Erol called from his brief scuffle with the teen, "You won't have to worry about Arbner for a few days. He's in the infirmary."

"Your doing?"

"Yep."

"Well, thank you. It'll be nice not having him badger me every waking – or sleeping – moment."

Erol finally managed to drag Jak from his cell and slap him into the machine, "How much are we giving him?"

"I don't really care," she said, nursing her injured feet, "How much do you want to give him?"

"I don't know. A large dose. One that'll take a long time," he smirked.

"Then let's go for it. I could do with a person screaming in anguish. My houses terribly quiet."

Erol fiddled with the dials, setting it to a high power and started the process. He left the control panel and walked over to her.  
"Hello," she greeted him for no particular reason.

"Hello," he replied, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Miss me?"

"Yes."

"Good. I missed you too."

"I'm glad I made an impression."

She smiled, "Indeed you did," she glanced down at her hands, "Indeed you did."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." But the blood continued to cover her arms.

On impulse he reached out and grabbed her hands, bending down to look at them.

"You can't see it, can you? The blood. Valen says it's a memory that's visualized itself, but only I can see it. Usually it only appears when I go through a huge emotional upheaval. Yet yesterday the blood showed up again. I don't get why." she stared at him, "It sounds insane but it's true." Some of the liquid trailed to the ground forming a small puddle on the cold floor.

Erol shrugged, "A little odd maybe, insane? No." He subconsciously began to rub her hands gently.

"You're very nice. Wrong, but quite nice. Or maybe you're right. Who knows?"

"Who indeed?"

"Valen probably. I think he's up to something again."

Erol smiled, "He's _always_ up to something."

"I'm _serious_ here!"

"It's true though, Val's always got a hidden agenda. It's just who it concerns at the moment."

Kaen glanced down at her hands, "I think it involves us."

"Probably," Erol sighed, still virtually unaware that he was still holding Kaen's hands, "It wouldn't surprise me, after how he's been lately."

"And that is?"

"He's trying to make me do and say stuff, hasn't it been the same on your end? Or is he just attempting to torture me?"

"He keeps saying you have something to tell me, but you never said a word."

Erol shrugged, and looked away.

"One more thing..." she stared at her hands, "Are you planning on releasing my hands anytime soon?"

He let go like he'd been burned, "Sorry."

"It's alright," she rubbed her hands, willing the redness away, "No big deal."

He stood up, what in the world had he been _doing_?

"Something wrong?" She stretched, watching him closely. It didn't look like Jance had had any idea about what he'd told her.

"Do you want an honest answer to that?"

"When do I not?" she laughed.

He shrugged.

"Spit it out. I'm not going to kill you. At the moment, I'm unarmed."

"It's nothing. Nothing important anyway."

After a moment of mental struggle, Kaen decided to let it go. "So. How's Jak doing?"

"No idea, I'll check."

"Go for it. I'll go back to nursing my feet. Remind me not to walk from the manor to here in heels ever again, okay?"

He nodded, "Sure." And with that he walked over to the machine to check the injection cycle's progress.

Something still troubled her, so, despite the promise she'd just made to herself not to pry, Kaen asked, "Do you know what Valen was talking about when he said you needed to tell me something urgently?"

Erol's eyes widened and he froze, "He told you that?"

"Yeah. The night before last. Said you were torn and needed to speak to me urgently. I couldn't figure out what it could be, so I didn't pry further... But now I'm simply curious."

"Don't worry about that. I was just trying to decide if signing those papers was going to be the right choice."

"Oh. That's anti climatic. I was hoping for something more," she paused, thinking how to word it, "Interesting than that."

"Like what?" he asked warily.

She shrugged, "If I knew, I'd hardly be asking, would I?"

"True." He could feel the truth nagging at him, demanding that he tell her how he felt, but he fought the urge and went back to checking on the test.

"Am I being an irritation again?"

"No."

"Oh good. I thought I might need to leave again," she grinned and got up, "You're taking an awfully long time."

"I guess my mind's just on other stuff."

"Like what?" Conversation felt nice, freer somehow. Like the opposite of the buildings in the slums. Soon conversation wouldn't be so scarce, but that day was a ways away.

"Like..." he paused, trying to sort through everything, "The fact that I nearly slugged Val yesterday."

"_What_?" she cried, eyes widening in shock. No one, not even Arbner himself, would dare to even think about hitting the man. It was like striking a previously abused puppy.

"I know. He pushed me too hard, I was having a bad day, and, well, I nearly hit him." Erol shook his head, "I didn't, but still..."

Kaen was highly offended, "Valen can be irritating at times, but never to the point you want to hurt him! What did he say?"

"He was, I dunno, harassing me about giving you the papers. Said I was 'losing' you. Whatever he meant by that." He was cutting this close; hopefully she'd drop it soon.

"Oh." So Jance had been right. She's never hear the end of it.

Erol looked at her, there was pain in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

"Did I offend?"

He shook his head, "No."

"You got all sad there. Like I had slapped you or something."

"Forget it. I've just been having a hard time dealing lately."

Kaen walked over to him and rested her hand gently on his arm, "Fine. I won't pry then."

He looked at her hand on his arm, "Thanks."

"I'm going now."

"Where?"

"To see Cayden about the security at my place and then... Either here or home, I don't know. It depends on when I decide to come back."

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll see you later then. Don't go walking around in high heels so much." He smirked.

"Screw off." Kaen headed back, snatched up the offensive shoes, and stalked off with a smile.

Erol couldn't help the smile he wore as the experiment came to a close. He dragged Jak back to his cell in a way that almost seemed gentle; the commander paused after locking the door. What was he going to do now? He thought about it. He hadn't been to the stadium in more than a month, he should probably go back and check up on everything, to make sure Keira hadn't screwed around with his racer too much.

He walked out of the detention center deciding that he _would _go spend a while at the stadium. If he was lucky, Keira wouldn't even be there.

-----------------------

Two hours later, Kaen reentered the empty detention center. Her conversation with Valen and Cayden had taken longer than she thought, but every word was necessary. Guards, cameras, torture devices – they had had to go over every detail. But at least it was done.

"And now Erol's gone. Odd. I suppose. Not that I care…" she glanced around, thankful that no one was listening.

"You don't care? Kaen, you're only fooling yourself."

Someone had been listening. "I'm not fooling myself Jance!" How could she have so easily forgotten her sketchpad?

"Yes you are," the heavily scarred man insisted.

"How so? Last time you said that _he_ loved _me_, not the other way around!"

He laughed, "I never said it couldn't be the other way around. You're head-over-heels for him."

"No I'm not!" her face went blood red again.

"No?"  
"No. No way in hell."

He sighed melodramatically, "Denial."

"Even if I did love him, which I don't, it would be a waste of time."

"What makes you so sure about that?"

"Because."

"Why?"

"Because! Why can't you leave it at that?" she snapped.

"Because it'll only end up hurting both of you in the long run."

"Hurt us? It'll save him and I don't feel pain."

Jance shook his head, "You're wrong."

"How so? Romance doesn't click with me. And he'll be happier with anyone else."

"No, he won't, and you just think it doesn't."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

"Because."

"Not good enough!"

"You thought it was a fine answer when you gave it to me."

"Mine was legitimate."

"So's mine."

Kaen was so angry at this point she admitted to something she thought she'd never say, "It's impossible because no one on this world can love something like me."

Jance rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "Erol does."

"It's impossible Jance. Loving me is like loving a monster," she stared at one bloody hand, "And I'm a monster to the core."

Jance shrugged, "Fine, believe that," he moved away from the bars of his cell, retreating to the darkness, "It has to be possible though."

"Why am I even bothering?" Kaen turned on her heel and promptly left for home. Problems of the real world were less painful than those of the heart.

-----------------------

Back at the stadium, Erol hadn't been fortunate enough to avoid seeing Keira. For hours she'd harassed him about the month long absence. And he hadn't paid attention to one word of it; his mind remained on other things.

"Erol! The mechanic cried, "You're not listening!"

"Yes I am."

"No you're not! What was the last thing I said?"

"That I wasn't listening."

She let out an exasperated sigh, "_Before_ that."

"Well that's not the last thing you said, then, is it?"

"Ugh. Why do you have to be such a pain?"

He shrugged, "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Because _I'm_ the mechanic. I could cut your brake line before a race. I'm in control of your life."

Was she threatening him? Seriously? She had nerve. "You _know_ I _always_ check for possible sabotage. _Always_. Besides, I don't use brakes until the end of the race anyway."

She giggled, already seeming to have forgotten about his attention deficit, "You know I'd never do anything like that to you."

"I know you wouldn't."

She giggled again, a slight pink going to her cheeks.

Why couldn't she be Kaen? For a moment he was back in the detention center, Kaen within reach. Unable to stop himself he reached out a hand and brushed it down her face. Reality snapped back into place and Keira had gone red from his touch. One thought was going through his mind, 'Oh god.'

Keira squealed giddily, batting her eyelashes at him as though begging him to do it again.

"I should go." Erol turned away.

"But..." Keira begged, "Erol," she reached out and grabbed his hand, "Stay."

"No." He snapped, yanking his arm away, "I've got other things to do." And without giving her the chance to say another word, he walked away.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Wow…This updating thing is getting ridiculous. It could be worse though, I suppose. Hopefully this inspiration doesn't disappear while I'm away. Hmmm… Oh well.

Kaen, Cayden, Valen, the Gardener, Arbner and Jance belong to us. The knives belong to me. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

Let the games begin!

* * *

Yet again, time ticked on relentlessly. Fazed from her last experience in the detention center and drowning in other work, Kaen did not even consider returning for nine months. There were drugs to import, gangs to take control of, debts to collect, black markets to supply and most of all, a name to establish. She rarely emerged from her office, staying locked away for up to forty hours at a time.

But it was all for the greater good – the criminal underworld was thriving under her diligent and tender care.

It was a bright and sunny morning the day she awoke in her office, head resting on the desk as if the hard wood was a pillow. "Ugh," she mumbled. "I guess I drifted off again. Horrible." It seemed as if the stressful lifestyle she'd been living was catching up to her.

The wall buzzed loudly and a disembodied voice spoke, "Cayden on line one Miss Kaen. He says it's urgent."

That woke her up quite sufficiently, "I'll take it. Hurry up and put him through."

The wall buzzed once more, dinged and transferred to Cayden. "Good morning Kaen. How are you?"

"Tired, needing coffee and some good news. Updates?"

"Nothing of any importance. We wiped out that one gang you warned us about, which wasn't hard. Oh, and the last shipment came in fine."

"Good," she sank back in her chair, "So why'd you call?"

"We – that is to say, Valen and me – were wondering if you want to come over to the palace to visit."

"I have work to do…"

The man on the other end sighed, "You work yourself too hard. The gardener says you haven't left that room for nearly two days. You're going to kill yourself!"

"But I have to work!"

"Kaen…"

She crossed her arms, "Nope. Not going over there."

"This is about Erol, isn't it? Well, don't worry; I doubt he'll even be here."

"Really?" Suddenly leaving the house didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"I can nearly guarantee. He doesn't hang around the detention center as much, not with all these attacks and the like. It'll be fine."

Kaen bit her lip. She missed her friends, but wasn't sure she wanted to face the commander. After a minute, she replied, "Okay. I'll be there in an hour."

--------------------

Erol was losing his mind. He was sure of it. He spent less and less time in the detention center, sometimes not even bothering to do a thorough injection on Jak and the teen would occasionally still be conscious upon his return to his cell.

He had to be imagining it, but it was like his job had gotten infinitely easier. There was less to do. Most of his free time was spent down at the stadium, performing a few modifications on his racer and chatting with Keira. With Keira! Of all people! He was sure he had finally crossed the thin line between sane and crazy that he'd been walking for years.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a conversation with Valen that had consisted of more than social greetings.

Life had become so...routine. He hated it. Erol sighed, deciding to just do things slightly differently, he'd go to the stadium in the morning and torture Jak later, it wouldn't be much of a change, but it might help mix things up a bit.

He sighed as he walked out the door. Even though he'd never admit it, he really missed Kaen; she'd made life so...interesting.

--------------------

Thanks to her new social status, Kaen found herself able to own things she would have never imagined possessing. Such as her limo. If there was one thing in life she loved, it was the beautiful machine that saved her feet from total mutilation. Plus, it got her everywhere faster, cutting what used to be a four hour trip to an hour long one.

"We're here Miss. When shall I pick you up?" her driver asked, glancing at her without meeting her eyes.

"In around three hours, please. I don't want to stay away too long. What a waste of time and money that could be spent on better things." Sure, it sounded snooty, but that's what people were expecting.

"Very well."

She rolled her eyes as she got out of the beautiful vehicle. "Whatever," she muttered under her breath, "Why must they all be so irritating?"

Her phone starting ringing before she'd taken two steps. "What?" she snapped before the caller had had a chance to speak. "I'm busy."

"Um..." It was her secretary, "It's another one of your guards. One's been begging for an extended mortgage or something like that."

Kaen sighed angrily as she entered the building, "Put him on. I suppose I have time for one more argument."

--------------------

Erol wandered slowly through the hallways, he'd pass the occasional two-fingered salute at one of the other guards, but otherwise, he remained devoid of any human contact.

Nine months. She'd been gone for nine months. Why was he not over this by now?

"You know what? I don't think you deserve another break!" There was a pause, "Don't give me that bullshit! I know where that so called money is going and it isn't to your family!"

Erol heard the voice before he saw her. It couldn't be. He rounded the corner and stopped dead. There she was, "Kaen," he breathed. He just stared at her, what was she doing back here again?

She didn't hear him. "No. I'm not listening to another word. Either come up with the payment or consider yourself a slummer!" Kaen disconnected the call, still swearing under her breath.

"You say slummer like it's a bad thing." He couldn't stop himself, the words came before he was aware of them.

"For the rich it is," she still hadn't recognized him, "And rich that scumbag is. For his family, ha! That man's a gambler, through and through. If I had any sense I'd..."

"You'd...?"

"Read the newspapers - they'll tell you everything you need to know. Can you please get out of my way? Cayden's going to be all bitchy if I'm late."

"Fine. Bit."

"What did you just call me?" He got her attention. Kaen finally stopped thinking about the caller and turned her thoughts to the newest offender. "Please repeat what you just said." It was an order.

"Drunk on power much? No."

She blinked as it finally clicked. She could feel herself blushing, "They said you weren't going to be here."

"Well, I am."

"Cayden promised." Now she sounded almost desperate, "Aren't you supposed to be down at the stadium with your girlfriend?"

"I was on my way."

"Thank god. Now if you'll excuse me." She pushed past him on her way to Black Ops. "I have more important things to do than flirt and race. If it wasn't for me, you would too."

He snorted and turned away. Inside he was reeling. She'd become so...different.

Kaen suddenly stopped. Where did such an outburst come from? Sure she was stressed, but had he done anything wrong? She contemplated apologizing, but decided against it. She needed to speak to Valen before doing anything that could be considered rash.

Erol felt like he could've killed something. That comment had stung, burned even. But it had been paled in comparison by the fact that Kaen had seemed to have changed so much. He'd lost her again, and this time there would be no redemption.

--------------------

Valen had sensed something very bad was about to happen the moment he heard Kaen was visiting. The girl was depressed, in serious physical and mental anguish and was willing to take it out on anyone. So, being a good friend, he searched everywhere for Erol in hopes of comforting him. It took the entire hour, but he finally found his target. "Hey Erol," he said when he saw the commander.

"What?" he attempted to snap, but he just couldn't manage to get the edge on his voice.

"Wow. What'd she say?" Valen was appalled.

"It's not what she said." Erol crossed his arms over his chest, "She's so different now."

"I told you power corrupts. I warned you that you would lose her inside this monster."

"I know. I ruin everything. Always have."

Valen grasped his shoulders, "I'm not really blaming it on you. I wouldn't read anything into what she's saying right now, because she's not thinking straight. Cayden had to pretend there was an emergency to draw her out of her little office. Kaen's going to kill herself at this rate, she's gotten so depressed."

"She's not the only one," Erol actually managed to look concerned, a considerable feat since he felt dead inside, "I would have thought she'd be happy. She's getting control of the city, taking over everything, she's free. What could possibly be wrong?"

"You."

"What?"

"Look. Everyone has been telling her you love her unconditionally," Valen paused, "And she is actually beginning to believe them."

"Great. Though she's under the impression I've moved on now."

"No. She's _hoping_ you've moved on now. You're a danger to her, because love is a weakness. It's the one weak point in her armor. Her father used to make her repeat 'I am unlovable' about a hundred times a day when she was little. And now she believes it. Kaen is under the distinct impression she's a monster."

"Her father was a good for nothing bastard," Erol sighed, "I don't know what to do anymore. If that's what she believes, then there's no point, she won't accept it."

"She will accept it! There's another factor, another reason why she's so scared!"

"And that is...?"

"I need to divulge family secrets here. Alright, Kaen's line has a code of conduct imprinted - literally - in their brain. The person they marry has to have five certain qualities or they aren't worthy. Determination, ambition, disregard for the rules, willingness to sacrifice and a high social status."

"Well, rules out a slummer like me doesn't it?"

"You'd think so," Valen said, smiling a very satisfied smile, "But your being the commander lets you fill that last requirement. Kaen knows it deep down, which brings us back to why she's terrified. She finds herself desperately in love with you and fears the very idea. She could usually brush it off, but you fit all the requirements!"

Erol blinked, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Which part?"

"Everything."

"No, I'm not kidding you. I'm a terrible liar and you know it. So I'm going to say this one more time: SHE LOVES YOU EROL."

"What am I supposed to do? Just walk up to her and say 'Kaen, I love you?' It doesn't work." He ran a hand back through his hair.

"Someone has to say it," Valen sighed. "Here's the deal, so listen up. You go down to the stadium to think it over and I'm going to go talk Kaen out of killing herself. Come back in two hours. Then, if you really want to keep her, I'd suggest just throwing it out there. Losing her once was hard enough for you, but watching her marry another man, like Arbner for example, will kill you."

"Okay, fine," he didn't sound overly convinced.

"Don't believe me if you don't want to." Valen grinned, "I can imagine a world where you're living with Keira and Kaen's having Arbner's kids. It looks pleasant." He turned as if to walk away.

Erol made an involuntary gagging sound, staring at Valen, "Don't give me images like that!" He pointed accusingly, "You take way too much delight in torturing me!"

"Little Arbners running around the streets. I'll be sure to suggest that to her too. And I'll say you said it."

"Don't you _dare_!" there seemed to be more life to Erol than there had been for months, "I swear, I'll gut you."

Valen only laughed, "In your dreams. Think about it Erol - what are you willing to lose?" And then he was gone.

Erol stood rooted to the spot, what _was_ he willing to lose?

--------------------

In Cayden's office, Kaen was getting a very similar talk from her bodyguard. "He loves you. I don't like it, but it's a fact. Why don't you just tell him?"

"Over my dead body will I tell him I love him. How could I? It's not like I can just go up and say, 'Erol, I love you?' It just doesn't work!"

"Kaen, holding this in is killing you," Cayden said, patting her hand. "I could tell him if you'd like."

"NO!"

"Just a suggestion."

The pair lapsed into silence. What was there to say? Kaen felt her heart being torn in two - duty and romance. Which to choose?

"Hey! Have I got something to tell you!" an out of breath Valen exclaimed as he burst into the room. "You'll just love this!" And he quickly regurgitated everything that had passed between him and Erol.

A long pause followed the outburst, which was broken by Kaen's hysterical laughter. "Me and _Arbner_! How could he even... Oh lord that's just so..."

"Well, you could always go talk to him about it," Cayden suggested. "I'd love to catch his response on tape!"

"You might have cured me off my anti-socialness, but that does not mean I'm just going to go up and ask!" she exclaimed. "However, since I do need to apologize..."

Valen could have hugged her. "Well, I suggest you go within the next twenty minutes. He'll be back by then."

--------------------

Erol hadn't ended up going to the stadium, deciding that having Keira there would only distract him. Instead he just wandered around the city near the palace. Could he do it? It was just four simple words. Four words. What was so hard about that? Could he live with himself if he didn't have it in him to say them?

These thoughts rolled over and over in his mind, always leading him to the same conclusion. He loved her.

He estimated that it had been about two hours, and began to head back, still feeling unclear in his decision.

--------------------

Kaen had left Cayden's office finally, feeling both scared and satisfied. At least they'd both had the decency to discuss business before she left.

She turned a corner, almost at the detention center. "This had better be worth it," she muttered to herself. "It really better be worth it."

Erol kept going over his options. There really weren't many, but his fear of rejection kept him searching for an extra one. He sighed, he had to tell her. He had to. There was no way around it, no way he'd be able to avoid it and live with himself anyway.

Kaen finally reached the detention center and stepped inside. Briefly she considered going to speak to Jance, but she was still so angry about the last time they spoken she decided against it. Instead, just for something to do, she went to her cell to collect some spare calikite. Valen had insisted she take up her hobby again.

Erol was no more than two minutes behind her, his boots clicked against the floor of the detention center. The silence pressed down around him and a chill ran up his spine. He'd finally decided.

She heard the footsteps. Either Arbner or Erol. "Hello?" she called, still searching for more scraps.

"Kaen?"

She straightened. "Erol?"

"Yeah."

"I'm," she stopped, the words seemed foreign in her mouth, "I apologize for my earlier behavior."

"It's okay. You've been stressed, I get it." He walked over to her cell, but didn't go in.

She looked him straight in the eye, but said nothing.

"Kaen, I..." he couldn't do it.

"Yeah?"

He had to. His eyes went to the ceiling and he took a breath to try and ready himself.

To this day she's never known why she did it or where the urge had come from. Maybe it was because she'd finally admitted she loved him or that he loved her. In any case, she reached out a hand a touched his cheek delicately.

His eyes widened and he stiffened instantly, all words fleeing his mind. He couldn't speak, hell, he couldn't breathe. He grabbed her hand before she could withdraw it, gripping it with a desperation he'd never thought possible.

She didn't know what to do, her head was spinning. It might have scared her more if she had taken the time to think about what was happening, but she didn't. "Why?" she whispered.

Words continued to fail him, what the hell was wrong with him?

She let her precious metal drop to free up her other arm. With just as tender care, she pressed one finger to his lips.

Erol's breath caught. What was happening? He couldn't figure it out. "Kaen," his whisper was barely audible. It seemed wrong to even try to say anything beyond that.

"Yeah?" She was smiling now and she'd taken a step closer. Everything else seemed non-existent.

He moved raised his free hand and removed her finger from his lips, he couldn't control himself any longer.

She took another small step forward, eyes searching his for confirmation.

He gazed into her dark eyes, transfixed, freeing up one of his hands he reached out to pull her closer.

Her heart stopped beating completely. This just wasn't possible.

Erol leaned down, gently pressing his lips against hers and everything seemed to fall into place.

Kaen stopped, froze and then unfroze. Things were coming together now. Tentatively, very tentatively, she kissed him back.

An alarm bell sounded throughout the entire area and Erol pulled away from her completely, "Metalheads," he snarled. Why now? Of all the times they could choose to attack, why now?

"The one lasting problem," she shook her head, trying to clear it. That had not just happened. It had to have been a dream.

He looked at her, "I'm sorry," he completely drew away, "I've got to go."

"Go for it. Maybe this time _you_ can clear up a problem for _me_," she grinned, "But I doubt it."

Weapons seemed to materialize in Erol's hands, his gun and an eco-knife, "We'll see."

"Well, tell me if you crush them once and for all. I'd be glad to hear about it." She reached down to pick up the dropped calikite, "You made me drop my knives."

"Sorry," he smirked, "See you." And with that he was gone, bolting from the detention center.

Kaen glanced down at her hands. Of course, after over nine months, the blood had just disappeared. "Damn you Erol," she sighed. "I guess Jance was right. Why? Why!"

"Because I know my little brother?" a weak rasping voice said.

"Jance? What's wrong?" Her anger with the man had evaporated with the kiss.

He whimpered, "I'm _fine_."

"Liar." Kaen nearly ran to his cell and when she saw what was inside, she let out an angry hiss, "Who did this to you?"

"I don't know all the names," he muttered, doubled over with pain, "Arbner and his cronies. I -" he broke off screaming.

Quickly she punched the code to his cell into the pad and opened the door, drawing out a knife. "Why? Why would he do this to you?"

"I don't know," he gasped, turning his head and sinking his teeth into his forearm. From the state of both his wrists it had become a habit.

Kaen pried him off his arm and stuck in the knife, pressing the top. "Don't worry. You'll have your chance for revenge."

He whimpered, feeling the eco move through him, regenerating some of his wounds, but there wouldn't be enough in the knife to fix everything. "Thanks," his voice was still strained.

"Anytime. Here," she fished around in one of the pockets and withdrew a tiny camera, "Next time they come, take a picture of each man. I'll make sure they suffer, but I'll leave Arbner to you." It was one of those rare moments of true friendship that passed between them.

Jance smirked, some of his vigor replenished with the healing. An animalistic look flickered over his eyes, "I'll make sure he gets it good." He inhaled sharply, and stared one of his hands, he'd started shaking. "No..." he whispered softly.

"What is it?"

"It keeps happening," he clenched his hand and looked at Kaen fearfully, "I'm losing myself."

Her eyes turned hard. "I have some work to do," she said, voice cold. "There's a few scores to settle." All at once her tone became comforting, "Fight it Jance. But if the pain gets to be too much, let it take you over. Nothing's beyond saving." She stood up, "Your brother proved that today."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Hooray for updates!

Erol, Kaen, Jance, Arbner, Valen, and any missed or unnamed OCs belong to us. Knives are mine.

And now, because you're not here for the author notes...On with the story.

* * *

Metalheads, hundreds of them, Erol could only stared wide-eyed for a moment at the scene he found. It was only a moment and then he plunged into the battle. A well aimed throw sent one of his eco knives up to the hilt in the nearest creature's flank. As he ran to retrieve the weapon he spotted two metalhead gunners hanging on the sidelines of the battle. Bringing his gun up, he fired off two shots in quick succession, hoping for a 'one shot, one kill' scenario. His luck wasn't that good, the first shot missed completely and the second only managed to bring the attention of both gunners down on him. 

He ducked to avoid the projectiles they flung at him. How had he forgotten that gunners were tougher than that? He grabbed his knife, twisting it out of the metalhead he'd thrown it at. The heat of one of the gunner's attack singed his back as it narrowly missed. Why did he have to be _so_ distinct?

Erol spun, throwing the weapon again, praying that he'd hit one of the gunners.

"Sir! Behind you!" one of the Krimzon Guards shouted and Erol dropped to his knees, barely avoiding the metalhead grunt that probably would have taken his head off.

The commander glanced back up, able to tell that his weapon had hit its mark. He pulled out a second eco knife, getting to his feet again, and raised his arm in preparation to send it flying into the other gunner's brain. He didn't need to. One of his men took the thing out for him. Finally it seemed like the other guards were starting to do something.

-----------------------

Erol's gun desperately needed reloading and he'd nearly exhausted his supply of knives. One weapon was his only defense again the creatures. His golden eyes scanned the carnage around him, searching for the other five. Kaen would kill him if he lost them all. Kaen, his thoughts tried to drift toward her, and, for a moment, they succeeded.

"Commander!"  
The shout brought him back to reality as a grunt leapt at him, going for his neck. With a cry of alarm Erol brought his arm up to defend and moments later he made and involuntary cry of pain as the thing's teeth sank into his flesh.

-----------------------

Arbner had heard the alarm, but hadn't found it necessary to go. Why should he? A man such as he had more important things to do. In this case, it was to find his darling before she could escape him. So he had gone to the detention center the moment he knew Erol was gone. Cameras hidden in the shadows had informed him that she had not yet left.

"Kaen?" he called, striding inside. "My darling! Where are you?" There was no answer. "Come out, come out!" he called again, beginning to feel his rising anger. "Where are you, you little bitch?"

A hiss came from Jance's cell as he heard the voice of the man he had come to loathe with every fiber of his being. The bastard.

Arbner whirled around at the hiss. "Do you know where my delightful lover is? Creature." He spat out the last word.

"She'll never be yours Arbner. Never," he snarled, feeling anger rise.

"That'd throw a new twist into the story, now wouldn't it?" the captain strolled over to Jance's cell, "A creature falling in love with his tormentor? Jealous, are we?"

"You wish. 'Fraid I don't swing that way. Guess you'll have to try elsewhere."

"With _Kaen_ you fool!" he screeched, spit flying from his mouth, "Not me!"

Jance laughed condescendingly, "You really _are_ thick, aren't you? You can't seem to add two and two together without getting five."

"Fine. We'll start at square one." Angrily Arbner punched in the code for Jance's cell. "Tell me where she's gone! I just saw her a moment ago on the cameras!"

It looked like he considered answering before sneering at the captain. "How about 'no?'"

The other man opened up the cell door and drew his gun. "One last chance – where is she? I need to tell my angel something before that Erol beats me to it!"

Jance growled low in the back of his throat, "Don't refer to my brother that way!" his eyes had gone cold, hard, and animalistic, "You'll regret it."

"I'll do whatever I want. Now tell me where she is so I can tell her a proposition she can't refuse."

"Hell."

Arbner shot him twice in the stomach. "I wan to talk to Kaen _now_!"

Jance barely even flinched, he laughed again. It was the kind of laugh you'd hear in an asylum. "Like I'll tell now!"

Arbner shot, this one closer to the heart. "Tell me where she is you worthless thing! I _need_ her with me. I will rule this world!"

Again Jance didn't even seem to notice. He stood, raising himself to his full height. "A little twerp like you?" he glared down at Arbner, "Like hell."

"Better me than someone like your brother!" Yet Arbner was backing out of the cell as fast as he could manage.

The scarred man's hand shot out and grabbed the front of Arbner's shirt, dragging him back towards him, "Coward."

"No! No! Please!" the captain's anger had melted into fear. "Please! I beg of you!"

"Why should I?"  
"Because I'll do something rash." As a last resort, Arbner shot Jance's hand and ran out, locking the door behind him. He turned back to face the prisoner, "Like that."

Jance stared at his wounded hand, a shocked expression on his face. His dark eyes lifted to glare at the man and he let out a screech of pure rage.

"I supposed I'll have to find my angel myself. Good day Jance," he turned and left, now positive that she wasn't there. When he found her, she would pay.

Jance watched the man go, cradling his hand to his chest. The murderous look left his eyes and he abruptly became aware of the other shots he'd taken. He screamed before clamping down on his arm in an attempt to silence himself.

-----------------------

"Jance! That fool Arbner! I could kill him!" Kaen snarled at the picture on Cayden's computer monitor. They – Valen and Cayden – had whisked her away the moment she'd left the detention center. Arbner had caught a glimpse of her going into her cell before Valen had fed the loop into captain's cameras.

Valen grabbed her hand. "No killing yet…He'll get his. Calm down."

"I can't calm down!"

"You'd think that someone who was all floaty a minute ago would take longer to freak out."

"I'm not freaking out!"

Cayden leaned back in his chair, "Get her some water and then go see to the inmate Val. The last thing we need is for her to go on a murderous rampage."

Valen nodded and began to pull his friend away, "Come on Kaen. No need to hurt the icky man."

"Let me go!"

"No."

She took a long look at the screen. "I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry."

-----------------------

Erol glanced around at the carnage; he clutched his right arm as he made sure no more metalheads had survived. He'd retrieved his knives and now…Now he was simply surveying the area. This was becoming too frequent.

"Sir!"

He turned towards the speaker, a young man, fresh from the academy it seemed.

"Sir, you're injured."

Erol rolled his eyes, "It's not bad," he barely managed to hide his pained grimace, "Nothing major." It hurt more than he cared to admit. A lot more. He gestured to the scene around them, "There's a lot more to worry about than me." He shrugged, "Check the fallen, see who's still alive."

-----------------------

Kaen sat in Valen's kitchen, sipping a cup of water, "I'm going to kill him!"

"Shut up Kaen," the psychologist said, "Do you want some food?"

"No if _you've_ made it."

"Fine, fine."

"I'm going to _kill_ him."

"Arbner? Or has your victim changed?"

She gave him an odd look, "Who else would it be?"

"Erol? Maybe because he…" he had to duck as Kaen chucked the glass at his head.

"Yeah. Him too."

-----------------------

Erol stood in the infirmary of the palace, attempting to keep his arm out of view of the medics. No easy feat since they were giving him status reports on all of the injured men every few minutes. He'd stopped paying attention, letting his mind drift to…other things.

"Commander!"  
For the second time that day he was snapped back to reality. One of the medics had finally noticed Erol's wounded arm.

"What?"  
"Your arm."

"It's fine. Don't -" Erol was cut off as the other man grabbed his arm and pushed his sleeve up and away from the bite.

"Oh god," the man had gone pale. "Sir…"  
Through the smeared blood deep gashes were visible on his arm, bone just evident in a couple of them. Erol let out an involuntary hiss. It was _bad_; he was going to have a hard time saying he was fine now, "Dammit."

-----------------------

"Let me come Valen!" Kaen nearly begged. It was an act of course, which she and Valen both knew, but her pleading voice always won him over, true or not. "Please?"  
He glared, "You want to go to the infirmary?"

"Why not?"

"Because there was an attack! There'll be blood and guts and…" he stopped, "That doesn't bug you at all, does it?'

"Nope," she grinned, "So can I come with?"

Valen sighed, "Fine, I suppose. Don't tell Cayden – he thinks you're in a 'delicate state?'"

"Alright, I promise. Now let's go!" she jumped off her chair and grabbed Valen's arm, "I need some refills for my knife anyway."  
Valen rolled his eyes, saying nothing. Sometimes she really was a spoiled brat.

"Hey!" Erol pulled his arm away from the medic, "Quit it! It's not that bad!" the other man had been trying for what felt like the millionth time to dress the commander's wound.

"Not that bad?!" the medic cried indignantly. "Not that bad?! Are you insane?"

"Probably. Now leave me _alone_!"

The room suddenly fell dead silent as Kaen and Valen walked in, no one moving a muscle. She surveyed the room coldly; then turned to her friend, "Get the supplies. I'll wait." He nodded and hurried off.

"Carry on," she commanded and the room burst to life once more.

Erol stared at Kaen; he thought she'd have left by now. The medic, taking note of the distraction, used it to his advantage to get a good start on dressing Erol's wound without interruption.

She motioned for a chair, which was brought over instantly. She lowered herself into it delicately and then, without even looking in his direction, addressed the commander. "Well that's a beautiful wound."

"Shut up," he snapped, annoyed that it was actually being taken care of now.

"It doesn't seem like you to get wounded," she smiled, "What distracted you?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," he lied.

Finally she glanced towards him, "Liar. Let me guess, it had nothing to do with the battle at hand? Figures."

"It had to do with _a_ battle," that wasn't _exactly_ a lie. He'd been having a mental fight with himself over her, but she didn't need to know that.

Valen returned then. "Kaen? I've got everything. We'll have you feeling better in no time flat." It had been the lie they had decided upon, to deter questions. If she was ill, no one in their right mind would get in Valen's way.

Erol looked at Valen then back at Kaen, "You're sick?"  
"Arbner. Need I continue?" she asked, poking his arm gently.

"No. No you don't."

She smiled at him, "That's smart."  
He nodded vaguely and turned to look at his arm instead. It was about halfway wrapped.

"You'll be at work tomorrow? _On time_?"

"Will you?"

"Yes. Yes I will."

"Then I'll be on time," he smirked. A hiss escaped him and he glared at the medic, they'd pulled excessively hard on the bandage.

"Better be. I don't want to have to punish you."  
"Yeah right. Didn't you have something else to do?"

She frowned, "Did I? I can't recall."  
"Oh, well, by all means, hang around. I thought you were doing something."

"It's a comfort to know I have the _commander's_ permission to remain in the palace," she said mockingly, "I feel so lucky."

"'Commander' is a high status and you know it!" he snapped.

"I was mocking you personally, not your rank. I respect the position of commander, but you're altogether too much fun to tease."

"Shut up."

"Nope."

He let out a growl of irritation, but let it slide; he wasn't really in the mood to argue.

Valen tugged on her arm, "Come on Kaen. No need to torment the poor commander."  
She smiled maliciously, "I suppose." She blew him a kiss, "See you tomorrow." It almost sounded like a threat, but not quite.

Erol rolled his eyes and looked at the medic again. The man was nearly done tying off the bandage. He finished and Erol twisted his arm away muttering, "Finally."  
"What were you thinking? One minute, the pair of you are kissing, the next you're tearing each other apart! Decide!" the psychologist groaned as they made their way to the detention center.

"Why? And he never kissed me"

"Denial… I have it on tape."

"I tell you Val, it didn't happen."

"Denial, I tell_ you_."

They entered the room, still arguing. "Valen, why can't you leave me alone?"

"Because I care about you!"

"Then stop caring about me!" she strode ahead of him to Jance's, "Now let it go!"

Valen sighed, "Fine, I hope Erol's not as stubborn as you."

She rolled her eyes and then turned her attention to Jance, "Jance? Are you awake?"

A whimpered growl was his response as he lifted his head from his arm, lips and teeth red with blood.

"What the hell…What have you been doing?"  
He held his arm out to her; he'd bitten through to his meager amount of muscle. With his second hand he also pointed out two bullets by his knee. The tips of his thumb and first two fingers were also stained crimson.

"Arbner," she hissed. She pulled the door open the moment she punched in the code, "Did you pull them all out?"

He shook his head and pointed out the remaining two, one in his stomach, and the one closer to his heart.

"Get me some rubbing alcohol Valen," Kaen said, hand outstretched. Valen placed it in her hand, still looking rather irritated. "Thanks."

With great care, Kaen cleaned the wound near the heart. When she was satisfied, she pulled out one of her green eco knives, "This might sting." And she made the first cut – in his stomach.

Jance let out a howl of pain, instinctively bringing his arm back within biting distance.

"Don't bite!" she commanded, continuing to cut without wounding him further. Finally she found the bullet. "Got it," she said using the knife to pry it out. It popped out like a cork from a bottle.

He was completely tense, whimpering in agony, but he hadn't sunk his teeth back into his arm.

"Here. Chew on this." A raw steak was tossed in the scarred man's direction. "Flesh like and bloody. Yum yum." It looked like Valen had produced a raw steak from nothing.

Jance's hand shot out and he grabbed the steak, sinking his teeth into it instead of his arm.

"Okay then…" the pair said in unison, staring at the man. Kaen composed herself, "Next bullet then?"

Jance shrugged, knowing that Kaen would end up going after it anyway, "Go for it," he mumbled around the steak, the first words he'd spoken since Arbner had shot his hand.

So she did, working slowly and carefully, making sure not to cut his heart. Eventually she had finished. "Done," she sighed, leaning back against the wall, "Now for the eco. Valen will do this part for you, unless you'd prefer it to be me."

"Don't care," he pulled the steak out of his mouth and looked at Kaen.

She stood up and walked out of the cell as Valen walked in, voice soothing, "Obviously this won't hurt. Kaen's going to go find Arbner. We'll fix your hand in no time, okay." It was hard not to marvel at how calm he could keep.

Jance nodded, looked at his injured hand and let out a low growl.

"Not going to hurt a bit."

Kaen watched a moment longer, then turned on heel and started off in search of Arbner, intent on killing him. True, she had promised him to Jance, but the captain had just gong a step too far.

As it was, she didn't have to look very far, because Arbner was waiting for her right outside the door. "Hello darling," the man cooed, grabbing her wrist roughly, "Shall we go somewhere more private?"

"Let go Arbner," she snarled, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"I believe you are." He pulled her away from the door, nearly breaking her wrist. She gasped in pain, which made him laugh, "I know, I'm rather breathless too." Arbner dragged her this way and that, squeezing her wrist tighter with every step. Kaen was hopelessly lost and terribly vulnerable – the pain was clouding her judgment. After a while he stopped, "This is secluded. How nice."

It was secluded alright, empty of any form of life. She shivered, "What do you want?"

"I have a proposition," he said, taking hold of her other wrist. "One you can't refuse."

"Wanna bet?" she snapped, struggling violently.

He kissed her cheek, "Yes my love. See we both have something the other wants."

"And that is?" Kaen tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't.

His lips brushed her jaw, "I want your power and you need to marry from a high social class." Arbner kissed her on the lips, "It's a perfect match."

Her eyes widened, "Hell no. No, no, no. Not in a million years will I marry something like you."

"Don't talk like that, love," his voice was threatening, "We're a _perfect_ match."

"If this is a marriage proposal, it's a far cry from romantic!"  
"Will it be romantic enough if I tell you I love you?" he sighed, tightening his grip.

She winced, "No. You don't love me – you loathe me. You loathe me because I have power you will never obtain and because your worst enemy holds my heart."

"Shut up!" he slapped her as hard as he could, "Shut up!"

Without warning, Kaen's cell phone went off. They both stared at it blankly for a moment, before Arbner started to laugh, "Saved by your phone. I best be off, but not before I leave you with a little present." He pulled out his gun, using only one hand to hold her wrists.

"Don't you dare!" she exclaimed as he fired a shot into her stomach, just like Jance.

He watched her fall to her knees, shooting her again, through the arm. "See you love. Maybe you'll be more willing when – or if – you get better. Though I doubt you'll survive – there's no way any of your precious Black Ops will find you before you bleed to death," he fired a last shot through her leg and then left, laughing.

Things were going black, "Damn," she muttered and then she passed out.

Arbner was right; no one from Black Ops did find her. Erol did. He'd been on his way from the infirmary back to his quarters when he found her.

"Kaen!" he rushed over, kneeling beside her and stripped off his gloves, gently pressing his fingers to her neck. He winced as he used his right hand to pull out his communication device. He'd barely gotten an answer from the other end before he snapped out an order. "Get a medical team to the West side D hallway!"

"Sir?"

"Don't argue. Just get on it!"

"But…Sir, we don't have enough medics."

Erol was not about to lose this argument, "You can spare enough! West side D hallway. NOW!" And with that he clicked off the device. He tentatively reached out and brushed his hand down her cheek, "Hang in there Kaen."  
"I'll try," she struggled back to consciousness, "Ow."

Erol pulled his hands away slipping his gloves back on, "A medical team's on their way."  
"I don't need a medical team – I need a knife. I'm going to murder that bastard!" she winced as she tried to stand up.

He grabbed her, "Stay still. You're only going to make it worse. There'll be time to kill Arbner later." He could only guess at who had done this to her, but he had a good idea who it had been.

"But he shot me! He shot me!" But she lay back down. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was on my way back to my quarters."

"Arbner tried to propose by _your_ quarters? Wow, he must be really dense."

"He tried to _propose_?!"

"We're the _perfect_ match," she said snootily, "We're meant to be. According to him. _And_ he told me he loved me about two minutes before he shot me."

"What the hell was he _thinking_? I think you might be hard pressed to beat me to him."  
"You wish. And can you get me around a ton of anti-bacterial soap?"

Erol blinked at her, "Why so much?"  
"My lips are infected with Arbner now."

He pulled a face, "Ew."

"You're no the one that was molested."

"And I hope to God I never am."

She smiled, "Don't worry – he's straight. Either that or he'd bisexual." She closed her eyes, the pain was returning.

Erol glanced around and put his hand on hers, "Relax."

"I am relaxing. I'm also bleeding profusely."

"Couldn't tell," he smirked, but it was more from worry than anything else.

She blinked several times as she slid in and out of consciousness. "I'm going down. God, I hate passing out from blood loss."

Erol nodded, "It's not fun."

"I'm going to kill Arbner." She seized Erol's hand as her eyes finally closed. Darkness consumed her vision. "Don't go" Coldness ate away at her brain and she said the last words she'd say in a week. "Please don't leave me."

The sound of footsteps on the hallway made Erol look up. The medical team had finally arrived. "Thank God."

"Sir! Miss Kaen!" one of the medical personnel cried, "What happened?"  
"She was attacked!" Erol snapped, "Don't waste time with dumb questions!"

Rather taken aback by his sharp reply they didn't ask anymore questions as they loaded Kaen onto a stretcher and took her to the infirmary, Erol following.

Inside the infirmary, a doctor was already waiting. "This girl cannot keep herself out of trouble, can she?" he chuckled upon seeing her limp body, "She really amazes me sometimes."

Erol glared at him. How could this man be in such light spirits?

"Well go stick her in a bed. I'll try to track down some blood before she kicks it," he shook his head, "Stupid O negative. Stupid inbreeding."

"How often have you dealt with her?" Erol asked, slightly shocked that this man knew Kaen's blood type automatically.

"I remember my dad telling me that that was her father's blood type. He was one of the doctors that was present after little Kaen's massacre. So I guessed that'd be her type too. It was certainly for her brothers. And since her mother, who was also O negative, was Faine's cousin…" he shrugged.

The commander barely managed to mask his disgust, as a slummer he'd been lucky to know who his parents were, much less worry about keeping family lines close. "That's just weird."

"This bunch is overly incestual. Ah well. Can't be helped," the doctor went over to a computer and typed in some information, "And why are you even here Commander? I thought you two loathed each other."

"That information is…" Erol paused, "Out of date."

"Yeah," snickered one of the other doctors, "Haven't you checked your emails?"

The redhead spun to face him, "_What_ do you mean by that?"

"Well a certain recording from a security camera in the detention center's made its way around."

His face met his hand, "Oh god, it didn't…"

The other man snickered again, "Are you ashamed? Embarrassed by your actions? It's your own fault. I wouldn't have minded if it was me, but that's your call Commander."

"Well," Erol sighed, by now that would have spread through the entire KG like wildfire, "Whatever."

"Okay. Cut the gossip for now," doctor number one said, "I've got he blood coming. She'll be ready to go in about a week, if all goes well."

"And if it doesn't?" the commander asked, fearing the answer.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. She might be in a permanent coma, but at least she won't be dead," he said cheerily. "But I doubt it."

"_Nothing serious_! I'd call that serious!"

The man smiled, "You worry too much. And you never answered my question."

"What question?"

"Why are you still hanging around?"

"Because."

"Not good enough reason to let you stay. Technically I should have already kicked you out."

"I'm staying with her, alright?"  
"Alright, but only under one condition."

"What?"  
He glanced at Erol's arm, "We put that are of your in a sling."

"Oh for the love of God…" he sighed in acknowledgement, "Fine."

A nurse rushed out of nowhere and quickly put his arm in a sling, leaving the moment she was done. The doctor grinned, "You really must have scared them with that video."

"What do you mean by that?"  
"That girl usually never shuts up. But now you're Miss Kaen's, well, for lack of a better term, _boyfriend_…"

"Oh," Erol flexed his hand experimentally and couldn't completely hide his grimace at the shooting pain the movement sent up his arm. His gaze went to Kaen and he moved closer to her bed.

"Get the man a chair!" the doctor barked, "I have a feeling he'll be here for a while."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Oh god, this story is getting updated fast. Anyway, you know the drill. Arbner, Kaen, the Doctor, Valen, Cayden, Blade and anyone else I forgot belongs to us. Blades belong to me. So, on with the show. Heheheh...

* * *

Arbner stalked through the hallway, fuming…The little bitch had survived, even after he had shot her! How could he have forgotten that Erol's room and the infirmary were nearby? How?! And then there was that video, the video of the two lovebirds being all lovey-dovey. He would kill them, but Kaen would go first.

"I'll murder her," he muttered under his breath as he made his way to the infirmary. "I'll slaughter her and pin her head up on her own wall!" He knocked on the door, "This city should be mine!"

A doctor answered, "Yes? How may I help you?"

"Yes," Arbner straightened his shirt, "I want to see Miss Kaen. May I come in?"

"I suppose. Any reason for this visit?"

"Just to make sure she's fine. She left me in charge of some of her affairs." How smoothly the lie slid off the tongue. "And this will only take a minute."

The other man shrugged, "Don't see the point, but I don't see any harm. Come on in. I'll take you to her." He beckoned Arbner to follow, which he did.

"Is the commander here?" the captain asked as innocently as he could manage.

"Not right now, I don't think. He's here an awful lot but I don't blame him. If my girl got shot, I wouldn't be leaving her side either," he glanced back at Arbner, "You've seen the clip right?"

"Yes," he replied through gritted teeth. "In fact I have."

The doctor hadn't noticed the hate in the other's voice. "Shocking but not unexpected. Certainly is a pretty one. Ah, here we go!" They had reached another door. "We keep her locked away so whoever shot her can't do it again."

"Smart. I can't imagine the tragedy that her demise would create," said Arbner with a smile, "So terrible."

"Yup. So here we go." He unlocked the door and let Arbner in, "Ten minutes."

"I'll be certain of it. This won't take long." His smile widened as he muttered to himself, "She'll be dead long before then."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, okay…I'll see you then." The doctor shut the door behind him.

Arbner waved; then turned towards the girl in her bed. "Hello precious." He walked towards her until they were inches apart. "Are you ready to die?" He pulled out his gun, "I guess you are."

An arm snaked around Arbner's neck and a blade pressed to his throat, "What the hell are you doing?"  
"Finishing what I started and you ruined," he spat, fruitlessly trying to push the arm off.

"Are you now?" Erol sneered shifting his arm to ensure his grip. He hated having to use his left hand. "I don't think that's going to happen."

"And why not? I don't think she can survive _twice_. Kill me after if you want, but let me have one shot first." He struggled desperately to raise his gun.

"Drop it." Erol commanded, pressing the flat of his blade against Arbner's throat, "Drop it or even the fact that you're in the infirmary won't save you."

He dropped it. "They said you gone!"

"Well they were misinformed, weren't they?"

"Why won't you just let nature take its course? She needs to go – her family's finished. And I will rise from the ashes!"

"As if."

"You're just using her for power too, so stop acting so noble!"

The blade began to turn so the edge was against Arbner's skin, "Don't group me with you, _ever_. And _don't _even _pretend_ to understand me."

"Prove me wrong! Why else would you try to woo a creature like that?"

"You wouldn't get it if I told you."

Arbner laughed, still struggling, "You're just a power hungry _slummer_."

Erol shifted the blade and sliced open Arbner's cheek, "And you and egotistical bastard with nothing better to do than entertain yourself with delusions of grandeur."

"I…" He was cut short as another knife whipped past his head, "What the…?"

"Shut up. My head is _pounding_. Absolutely _pounding_. So can you keep it to a dull roar?" It seemed that sometime during the argument, the girl they had been talking about had woken up.

"You little bitch…"

Kaen closed her eyes, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head, "Well excuse me for living."

Erol, though surprised by the knife, couldn't keep a smile from his face. She was awake. Determined not to give Arbner any chance at harming her again, he pulled back forcing the man to either move with him or risk being choked. "You're coming with me," he hissed in the man's ear. He glanced at Kaen, I'll be a minute, this thing," he jerked his arm for emphasis, "Needs dealing with."

"Mmm."

"Let me go!" Arbner managed to squeak out, "Darling! Save me!"

Erol gagged, the man sickened him. He forced Arbner back out the door where Erol shouldered him into the wall. "You," he began holding the knife out in front of Arbner's face, "Are going to stay here until I come back to deal with you. Get it?"

Arbner spat in his face.

"Bastard," and with that Erol plunged the knife through Arbner's ear, essentially pinning him to the wall.

"Let me go you arrogant freak!" the other man cried, desperate for one last insult, "Slummer!"

The commander glared, slammed his knee into the other man's groin and walked back to where Kaen was.

Her head was hidden beneath the blanket, her way of blocking out the light, "Hey," she said, voice slightly muffled by the cloth.

"Hey," Erol walked over, flipping the light switch on his way.

"Thanks," her face emerged, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you stay? Not that I'm complaining."

He shrugged, "I was worried about you."

"I asked you to stay, didn't I?" she sighed.

"Yeah."

She smiled at him, "How long was I out?"

"About a week."

"WHAT?!" she sat straight up, "A week? That's horrible! There were two shipments due to come in, a meeting with Blade, money to transfer, and the selection of the guard! Oh god, I have to get home _now_!"

"Whoa!" Erol put his hand on her shoulder, "Hold it. The city hasn't fallen apart. Just relax."

"But! But! But…"

"Relax."

"How can I relax? Someone has to do your work for you!"

"You've been doing what-now?"

"Your work for you," she said slowly, "Why do you think you have so much spare time?"

"I had no idea. Well…thanks, I guess, but I also managed without your help for a week," he smirked.

She closed her eyes, "I don't ever want to know how you managed to run the city in a hospital room."

"With my non-dominant hand, in a hospital room." He laughed.

"You astound me."

"I know."

She laughed weakly, "This is pathetic."

"It really is. Aside from the headache, how are you feeling?"

"Cold and confused, actually."

He put his arm around her, "What's got you confused?"

"Other than work, I was wondering why the doctors let you stay here with me."

"We made a bargain."

"What sort of bargain? Am I part of the deal?"  
"No. Not really anyway. I wanted to stay; they made me look after my arm. Sad but true."

"Well thank you for sacrificing your pride for me," she shook her head in amazement.

"Anytime."

"But that wasn't what I mean when I was wondering why they let you stay."

"Oh?"

"Isn't this a scandal? Wouldn't they ask why you want to stay?"

"Umm…" he paused, "No. Due to a certain video distributed by a certain blonde psychologist, they didn't really wonder."

"What?! What video…" Kaen winced. "Don't answer that. I think I know."

"You probably do."

"Took place around a week ago?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Oh no…I bet that churned out some interesting rumors."

"It probably did. I just haven't heard any of them."

She grinned, "Should we feel properly ashamed?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

"How inconvenient." It looked like Valen had told the truth – the kiss had happened. She didn't know whether or not to be embarrassed.

"It'll blow over in a while."

She nodded; then voiced one of her fears, "Are you embarrassed by it?"

"I'm…" he considered, "Used to it by now. Are you?"

"Can't decide. Hell, I can't decide whether or not it happened."

"Neither can I. It seems, I don't know, like it was a fantasy or something."

"I wish I knew. It would make everything easier," she sighed, leaning on his arm. The room was _freezing_.

"You really _do_ find it cold, don't you?"

"It's an ice cube in here!"

"Quit exaggerating, it's not that bad," he slipped his right arm from the sling and put it around her too, wincing slightly."

"Don't kill yourself," she advised, "And I am not exaggerating."

"I won't. And you are."

"No."

He didn't reply, just enjoying the feel of her. It was nice.

There was a knock on the door. Kaen looked up, but didn't move otherwise. She was comfortable there.

"Do you want me to get that?"

"Only if you want to. I'm betting it's either: Arbner, a doctor, or Valen." She mentally hoped he wouldn't, but she didn't say anything about it.

"It won't be Arbner, he's currently attached to the wall," Erol didn't really feel like moving. "If they're important, they'll just come in."

The knocking continued. Finally the visitor spoke, "Mr. Erol? There's a man pinned to the wall who says Kaen is awake. May I come in?"

"Sure. But don't let him go."

"Alright." The door opened to reveal the doctor who had been taking care of Kaen, "So you are awake! Hope your boyfriend's been treating you well."

"Boyfriend?" she hissed at Erol, going blood red, "Boyfriend?"

"Okay, so there was _one_ rumor I heard, they seemed very insistent on using that terminology."

"But boyfriend?" her face was going redder by the second.

"See you're getting your color back!" the doctor said, searching for some sort of medicine.

Erol sighed and shrugged, her blush was rather amusing.

"Here we are. Should clear up that headache of yours." A needle suddenly pushed into her vein, making her make a high squeaking sound. She hated needles.

"It's okay," Erol whispered to her softly.

"I don't like needles," she said, curling up closer, "They're intrusive and possible fatal." But his words comforted her.

"Once you get a few thousand in a day, you really get used to them. Not that I advise that."

"How'd you manage that?"

"Getting inked."

"Ouch. I spare my black ops the trouble. Not that I don't like them," she touched one of his delicately, "It just isn't the best for blending in."

"No, not really. Getting my eyelids done was the worst part. Of course _I_ didn't have a panic attack in the middle of it," he smirked, "Torn did."

Without asking, Kaen pulled down his eyelid to take a look. "Torn's a wimp. These eye tattoos look like they were much more painful."

He laughed, "You could've just told me to shut my eyes you know," he smirked, "But then I wouldn't get to look at you so…"

"I'm not much to look at, so you wouldn't be missing a lot."

"Let me be the judge of that."

"Must I?" her eyes searched his, "You could be lying."

"I wouldn't lie to you," he paused, "You have positively beautiful eyes, such an unusual color."

"Unusual and unnatural," she smiled, "And I'm not the only one here with beautiful eyes."

He blinked, "Thanks…I think."

She rolled her apparently beautiful eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Why would I lie to you? The only part of your appearance that ever irritated me was your hair. First time I saw it, I considered shaving it off while you slept."

"That's more than slightly creepy."

She made a face, "I hate the color orange, and you have orange hair. Plus, I was still a teenager, so I cut myself some slack." Her fingers reached around and touched his hair, "I don't mind it so much now. I've gotten used to it."

"I'm glad. I don't much like the idea of you making me bald."

"Neither do I." She slid her hand from his hair, fingers momentarily brushing his cheek. "I don't think I could, or would, do it now."

He leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead.

She kissed his neck, getting that damnable fuzzy feeling again. The fact that she was in a hospital bed with a doctor watching seemed unimportant.

Erol was equally uncaring; he rubbed his nose against her neck gently.

Over in the corner, the doctor cleared his throat loudly, "We're going to have to take one more x-ray. Then you can go."

Kaen sighed, "Very well. Then you and I need to talk. How would you like a sudden pay raise?"

"What do you…Oh!" His eyes grew wide, "Yes. Of course! I would be honored!"

She smiled, "I knew you would see things my way." Under her breath she added, "You all do."

Erol pulled away, sliding his arms from her. "Do you want me to stick around or should I go check up on our rather neglected experiment?"

"I'm a big girl now." She kissed his cheek, "I think I can manage."

"Alright. See you later." He straightened and walked out of her room.

She turned to the doctor, "Let's just get this over with."

Arbner was already down the street by the time he saw Erol leave the room on his computer. His ear was aching – he'd had to rip out a large chunk of it to get free.

Thinking back on his actions he'd been too rash. Next time, he would pin it on someone, anyone else. And he would do it when she least expected. Such as when she was not alone or with Erol. Doing it while Cayden was near would be perfect, but difficult.

"Baby steps," he reminded himself, "Baby steps. Take it slow and careful." His eyes narrowed, "Just like her family did to mine."

A year ago, he had learned that he'd been spending money he didn't have. Apparently Kaen's father had sapped Arbner's family dry of money so he wanted revenge for their evil.

"Baby steps," he muttered again, "Baby steps."

For the first time in a week Erol found himself heading towards the detention center. He walked in not expecting anyone to be there. Needless to say, he was rather surprised when he nearly ran into one of Arbner's men.

The man was clutching his arm and muttering to himself, "Goddamn freak. I can't believe he _bit_ me. I'm so going to kill him for this." He didn't even seem to notice the commander.

Erol let it pass, deciding he'd rather not know and headed over to Jak's cell. "Hello eco freak. Long time no see."

Kaen shook hands with the doctor and headed down to the detention center. Her house had a new medical technician it seemed. And good thing too – she was scared of that the gardener could do.

"And Arbner's gone. Nothing else can go wrong today," she said as she opened the door to the center, "Nothing at all."

Erol glanced up as she entered, "Hey, fancy seeing you here."

"I wasn't going to be gone forever."

"I knew that."

"You sounded surprised is all," she sat down on a nearby bench, "Like you thought I was going to kick it or something."

"Well for a while…"

"Aww. Was someone worried about me?"

"Yes."

"Thanks for your support."

"Anytime."

Her phone newly retrieved went off, "One second," she said, answering it.

"Wow, barely out of the hospital and you're already taking calls again."

She glared at him then turned her attention back to the phone. "Hello?"

"Kaen?" it was Valen, "You're out!"

"Yeah."

"How you holding up?"

"Decently, I suppose. And you?"

"Amused and worried."

"Explanation?"

"Well, amused about the video I forwarded."

"Remind me to gut you later."

A laugh, "How about no?"

"Just move on," she sighed.

"Alright, I'll tell you why I'm worried."

"Why are you worried?"

"Take a guess."

Kaen groaned, "Val I don't have time for this!"

"Fine, fine," he grumbled, "Seems like the Baron thinks you're a threat."

"What else is new? He always thought I was cocky."

"Cocky enough to assassinate you?"

"AN ASSASSINATION PLOT?!" Kaen's eyes widened. That was bad – surprise, surprise.

"Don't burst my ear drum. Yeah, there's a plot and it's going down tonight, or so I've been told. You can't stay here and you can't go home."

"Can't Cayden stop it?"

"No, none of us can. We're trying to arrange a way to get you to safety but you might be on your own."

"Okay, thanks for the heads up Valen," she said grimly, "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. Bye. Take care."

Kaen snapped the phone shut and swore quite loudly, "Dammit Praxis! Can't you live and let live?!" She massaged her temples "What to do…"

Erol stared at her, "What's thin about an assassination plot?" since he'd only heard half of the conversation he was obviously confused.

"Looks as though I've tipped Praxis over the edge. Probably helped by Arbner. They'll be coming here and to my houses, or so it seems. Valen and Cayden are working on getting me out of the city until it all blows over, which means I'm most likely on my own." Still rubbing her temples, Kaen began to pace, "Think, think, think."

He chewed his lip, there had to be something he could do about this. There had to.

"I could hide out with Ripp, I suppose, but it would put him in danger…"

Erol opened his mouth to say something, but finding that he still had no idea what, promptly shut it again.

"Well, first thing's first, I guess. I'll need something to keep me alive." She stopped pacing and went to her cell, "Now where did I put it…?"

He followed her, "What are you looking for?"

"This." It was a gun, she glared at it dejectedly, "How the mighty have fallen."

"There's nothing wrong with using a gun."

"It's impersonal, impractical and not my style," she sighed, "But beggars can't be chooser." She paused, "I might have to kill someone."

"And this is a new experience how?"

"What if I told you the last people I've killed was my family?'

"Well that's a bit unexpected…"

She smiled, "I threaten, I bargain, I even order deaths, but I have not killed another person one-on-one. It's either cowardly or noble, I don't know which."

"Probably noble. I've never gotten used to cold blood killings. Always make me feel like I've taken the easy way out."

"At least you don't become a monster like me or Jak," she pointed at the teen. "I'm not the only creature running about with a dark side."

He nodded, "I know. It'd help if he'd show some sort of outward sign though."

"He hasn't had need yet. It will show when he has need. That's how it worked – works – for me." She looked at the gun again; then strapped it on. "I better get going."

Erol grinned and put his hand on her shoulder, "Be careful."

"No shit Sherlock," she said, rolling her eyes, "And please, if the Baron orders you to kill me, don't go through with it. 'Kay?" Then she was out the door.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Sorry it took so long to update - some stuff got lost in translation. And the last version of this was the orginal - oops. But here it is.

Valen, Cayden, the creepy child, Kaen and anyone else I've forgotten belongs to us. Knives are mine. Everything and everyone else belong to Naughty Dog.

Enjoy.

* * *

Erol stood in the throne room of the palace, gazing up at Baron Praxis in mock reverence.

"It's imperative that you understand the severity of this issue Commander," the large man rumbled.

He nodded, "Yes sir."

"She is a threat to the order of this city! We need to neutralize her before we completely lose control. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"No doubt she'll have found out about the guards posted around her properties. Should my attempts fail, you have an important duty. It is to take priority over all else."

"Sir?" Erol asked, a sinking feeling manifesting itself in the pit of his stomach.

Praxis rose from the throne and walked towards Erol, "The next time you see Kaen, as I'm sure you will, it is your duty to kill her."

His expression betrayed nothing as he saluted, "I understand Baron Praxis."

"Do not fail me Commander, or your life will be compensation for you mistake."

Erol nodded.

"Dismissed Commander."  
He saluted again and spun on his heel to exit the throne room. He needed to talk to Valen about this.

'You've failed her. You've failed her and Erol and Cayden. What do you have to say for yourself?'

Valen sat in his office, trying to ignore the speaker. He had switched off the lights – at least he didn't have to look upon his tormentor.

'What if she dies?' the voice continued, 'Can you live with yourself?'

"I have nothing to say to you boy," the man hissed, closing his eyes tight. "I've tried all I could. Kaen's a tough girl; she'll survive a few nights away. Leave me alone."

'What if Erol kills her?'

"He won't!" the psychologist jumped up, "He loves her."

'Enough to sacrifice everything? She'll ruin him.'

He sank back into his chair, "But still…"

A pair of childish hands grabbed his shoulders, 'Shut up fool! Why did you involve yourself in this?'

"Because I'm more than you'll ever imagine me to be?"

The child behind him sighed, 'Valen, what will I do with you? I'll bet the commander will be here to speak to you in a minute. I'll be watching.' There was laughter and the hands let go of his shoulders.

"I'm going mad," Valen groaned, nearly crying, "Why can't he just leave me alone?"

There was a knock at the door, "Val!"

He looked up suddenly, startled. "What? Who's there?" It wouldn't be the child. It had promised to only watch. "Who's there?"

Erol opened the door and walked into Valen's office, "It's just me." One look at the psychologist and Erol knew something was wrong, "Val, what happened?"

Valen could feel the cold sweat on his brow, could feel that he was shaking, "It was _him_." He muttered, "He saw, he knew. It's all my fault, he says, bit it's not."

The redhead walked over and put his hands on Valen's shoulders, "What did he say was your fault?" he had no real idea who Valen was talking about, but basing off of past experiences he had something of a clue.

"I've good as killed her he says, but what does the child know? Nothing! NOTHING!" he stopped then added, "Sorry. Apparently the stress of the moment brought on an attack."

"I'd gathered. You okay?"

"As okay as someone like me can be. It's odd though," he paused to ponder for a moment, "I was told that the boy couldn't return, not after the medication. I guess they were wrong.

"And now, we discuss your predicament. You have been ordered to kill the woman you love as much as anyone can, under threat of your own life. Kaen is armed and prepared to kill, but we both know that a drop of blood can pull Kaen into Bloodlust. And Arbner had come back to watch you all go down in flames. I'm sort of hoping for that too, but you might not go down as well as I hoped." Valen smiled, "And to think that all Kaen wants is to settle down and run this city with an iron fist and justice."

"So what do I do?"

"Wait for her to come back?"  
Erol sighed, "Not really what I meant."

"What'd you mean then?"

"About the whole goddamn situation!"

"Wait for her to come back. What'd she take when she left?"

"A gun."

Valen smirked triumphantly, "Then she didn't take her medication! She'll definitely be back tonight!"

"Well, if that's the case…Been nice knowing you."

"Let's have a chat, you and I. Go pull up a chair. There's a way out of this."

"Fine." Erol went and sat across from the blonde, "Um, why'd you turn the lights off anyway?" He attempted to sound as casual as possible.

"_He_ was here. I don't like to look at him, you know that. The child has less power in the dark. But you can turn them back on if the dark is scaring you."

"I'm _not_ scared!"

"Then come sit down! We have much to discuss," he patted his desk.

"I _am_ sitting down. And I'm over here," Erol snapped his fingers at Valen, a sound very muffled by his gloves, but still audible.

"Sorry, my eyes are closed now. Anyway, let's get down to business."

"Right, so…"

"You're in a right predicament, but I think I have a way out. Will you do as I ask?"

Erol shifted nervously, "Fine."

"First, we need to get her to a safe place for a few days. Somewhere where no one will think of looking for her."

"Right, what's next?"

"That's as far as I got."

"Oh. That's terribly helpful. I guess it's a starting point. I can improvise the rest."

"And keep her out of any of her houses please. She'll want to go, but keep her from going, won't you?"

Erol nodded, Alright."

"One more thing," the shrink said, opening his eyes to stare into the inky black. "Promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't let her kill anyone. And tell her you love her. Only those two things."

"Yes to the first, if I can fit it in to the second."

"Then skedaddle. Hide out with her. I'll talk to Praxis." Valen closed his eyes again and more or less shut down his brain.

Erol stood and left, heading back to the detention center. If Valen was right, Kaen would be going back there soon.

"How could you forget these?" Kaen scolded herself as she picked up the bottle of pills from the bathroom counter. "Run away and forget the most important thing of all?" she placed them delicately into a bag. "Next I'll be forgetting my knives or something!" With a sigh, she exited the bathroom and went into the main cell. Her home. Eventually she could return, but it was hard parting with it. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.  
Erol practically bolted into the detention center, his golden eyes casting about for anyone else in the area.

She didn't even bother to open her eyes. Instead, one of her hands dropped to a knife. The gun was a last resort.

He heard movement and he instinctively reached for his gun. If anyone was a threat to Kaen…

Finally she opened her eyes. "Why can't the world just leave me be?" she muttered to herself as she stepped outside, pulling the knife out. 'What a waste of my life,' she thought, 'Fighting for no reason at all.'

Erol brought the gun up, pointed at the sound. His expression was cold, hard and utterly merciless. It was Kaen. For a moment his military training and the orders from the Baron rang out loud and clear in his mind. Love or duty, he couldn't have both.

It was Erol. Her hand tightened around her blade. The baron would have ordered him to kill her, but would he follow orders? If so, would she have the spine to make sue he was dead before she hit the ground?

His finger tensed on the trigger, one shot, that's all it would take.

Darkness clouded her vision. He was going to do it; he was going to kill her. It seemed only fitting that the thing that killed him would be the monster she had kept suppressed for so long. She had once promised herself, after all.

Abruptly his expression softened and his hand relaxed, arm dropping. How could he even have_ entertained_ the notion of following through?

Kaen figured he was either seriously reconsidering or bluffing. In any case, she only tightened her grip on the blade, watching and waiting for the next move. The darkness was growing.

He watched her, something seemed off. His arm twitched, instincts telling him to bring the gun back up. A calculated moment later he slipped the weapon back into its holster. He was willing to take the risk.

Black tendrils were wrapping around her eyes, drawing from the inky blackness of her pupils. It was taking over once again. She wanted to scream, but found her voice caught. The intruder was part of her mind and she wouldn't let it win now, of all times. But it was harder than it looked.

"Kaen," his voice was calm, his expression concerned, "Kaen."

He was out there and now, simply due to a misunderstanding, she was locked inside her own head. She concentrated on locking It away once more, putting up the wall in her mind, just like Valen had always instructed. The black lines were melting back into her pupils and her vision was clearing. She willed herself to drop the knife, which she finally did; It once more was under control.

Erol felt himself relax as her knife hit the floor. He walked towards her, but it was still a wary, cautious movement.

"At least I didn't kill him," she more or less whispered, "Lucky for him I didn't lose it. It really wants out. I wonder why…"

"You okay?" he asked once he was a little less than arm's reach away.

"Now I am. 'I' being the one who controls the mouth at the moment." Kaen reached down and picked up her fallen knife. The darkness was completely gone now – it almost made her laugh aloud.

"Thank god. Got your meds?"

"Yeah, or else you'd be a corpse on the floor right now. Didn't anyone ever warn you about contemplating to kill me?"

"No. I don't think anyone actually ever thought I'd honestly contemplate killing you. Which somewhat reminds me," he reached down and pulled his gun out again, but it was a non-threatening movement. "Here." He offered it to her.

"Why do I need a gun? I already loathe the one I have!" she glared at the weapon in his hand.

"Just take it."

She took it, but with great hesitation. "Why did I need to take your gun?"

Erol sighed melodramatically, "Oh shoot. You've disarmed me. How am I supposed to kill you now?"

"You have got to be joking..." Kaen stared at him in disbelief, "This is what you call disbarment?"

He shrugged, "You've got my gun now."

"You're still not disarmed, I'm sorry to say."

"Praxis won't know that."

She shook her head, "I mean you still have a weapon on you."

"Oh? Do I?"

"Does the word 'knife' ring a bell?"

"Those have been temporarily left in my quarters due to 'lack of forethought.'"

"You put an awful lot of thought into this, didn't you? Or should I say, Valen greatly suggested it and you improvised."

"No, this was all me. Valen barely had a plan."

"Oh? And that was...? I'm dying to hear it, which seems quite fitting under the circumstances."

Erol sighed, "All he came up with was getting you somewhere no one would think to look for you. I have to fill in the rest, like where that would be, for example."

"Well, I suppose you have to start somewhere," she said, placing his gun delicately on the floor.

"Yeah..."

"And you have no idea where to start?"

"Pretty much."

She rolled her eyes, "Sometimes you just amaze me beyond belief."

He shrugged, "I'm sure I do. I think I nearly have a plan, _nearly_."

"Do I want to hear it or should I be frightened?"

"Let me think about it a bit more, then I'll let you know."

"Okay," she shrugged. "So what do we do now?"

"No idea."

"Well, if you want my opinion, which I don't know if you do, I say we kill Jak."

"Sounds fun, but no. Val said I'm not to let you kill anyone." he scratched the back of one of his hands, there was too much to think about.

"Then you do it. He's not something I need to worry about right now. That kid is more trouble than he's worth."

"Probably shouldn't. Despite lack of progress, I don't think we're supposed to terminate him until Praxis says to."

"You saw just what just happened to me, right? Black tendrils, animalistic look, blah blah blah?"

"Hard to miss. I'm pretty sure that's the effect he wants from us." Erol pulled a face, "Seems like a bad idea to me."

"I don't want another me running around the streets! I don't think that Jak's transformation will stop there. Either we kill him or we send him somewhere far away from Haven. Just a suggestion, in case I get shot or something."

"You have a very good point, but..." he trailed off. There was just too much on his mind.

She sighed, "You aren't really concentrating on this, are you?"

"No."

"What are you thinking about then?" she smiled in spite of herself. The whole situation, the argument and wandering attentions, seemed so normal.

He rolled his eyes, "God only knows. Even I can't figure myself out at the moment.

"You astound me."

"I know."

"Can't you reply to that in some sort of conversation prompting way?"

"No, I don't think I can." He shrugged hopelessly, "If you want a conversation, say something I can respond to in a conversation prompting way."

"What are we going to do? I'm getting bored."

He shrugged again, the main focus of his mind now on trying to sort out a plan.

Her phone rang again. "I'll be right back," she told him and went into the cell to take the call.

He nearly had one. All he needed was a place. That was it. There had to be somewhere no one would think to look for her. He might as well throw himself into the mix now too; it would be that or face an execution for disobeying Praxis. "Dammit," he hissed. "Dammit."

Kaen snapped the phone shut. It had been Cayden - all communications in her houses were offline. She walked back out. "We need to go as soon as possible. They've moved into the houses - others will be here soon. I'm going to gut Arbner."

"But where? Where can we go?"

She bit her lip. "I can leave the city, but I might not be able to get back in."

Why couldn't he think? He could usually handle pressure, what was he forgetting? "I'm as good as dead...we just need to get _you_ to a safe place. Outside the city could work but...Since you can't be sure you could get back..."

"You know what? I've got a perfect solution." A perfect solution for her at least...

"What?"

"I'll fend for myself. See you." She headed towards the door. Simple as that.

"Kaen wait!" If she did that...Erol repressed a shudder, odds were they'd never see each other again.

"Hey, it works! I get out; you're let off the hook. Val will just edit the cameras a bit," she shrugged, not turning around.

He found himself beside her but couldn't seem to recall moving, he had also grabbed her wrist, "No."

This time Kaen actually turned to look at him. "Well, you weren't getting anywhere and my life as I know it is ticking away. I'm more use to this city alive and banished than dead and still in the city itself."

"I don't want to lose you."

"You're not losing me, you're merely temporarily misplacing me," she tugged her wrist out of his grasp. "It's not forever or anything. And you're more use to this city alive too."

"Kaen, no." his voice was quiet, "No. Not like this."

"Not like what? There isn't much left! I've been on the job for just under a year and I'm already under threat. I haven't accomplished anything of any notice. I haven't even fulfilled most of my promises! Hence why I want to be alive rather than dead."

He took hold of her wrist again, no longer sure what to say. He couldn't bear to have her go. He couldn't.

She felt torn. Part of her was, like usual, impatient and irritated by the hold up, but the other part, the part with a conscience, felt very much like she would like to stay. But who to listen to?

"Kaen," he couldn't stop himself as he put his arms around her in a last, desperate attempt to keep her from leaving.

Her voice came out more panicked than she had intended, "I have to go, for all our sakes."

"No, Kaen..." what could he say? How could he keep her with him?

"There's no other way!" she snapped, sounding fake even to herself. She really, really wanted to stay, but she knew in her heart of hearts she couldn't. It would kill him.

"I'll find one," he insisted.

"How? If you hide me, you'll be killed and I..." she turned away, it hurt too much to say.

"I know the risks," he brushed a hand down her face, "I just can't lose you again."

"You've lost me before?" she gave him a sad smile.

He nodded slowly, "When you left the first time." He tightened his arms around her, "I'd rather be dead than try to go through that again."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "I wanted to go when you released me; I was ready for freedom. But now, here, at this point in time," she shrugged helplessly.

"You have no idea how hard that was. I..." he still couldn't say it. Again the words failed him.

"You...?" she touched his cheek, much like the last time they had been alone in the detention center.

"Never mind," why could he never say it? He tilted his head and pressed his lips to hers.

She blinked, slightly taken aback by the action. It was like every time he got close to finishing the sentence that started with 'I,' he kissed her. But she didn't complain - couldn't complain. A beautiful lasting memory before she got shot. So she kissed him back, trying to keep her emotions in check.

He began to plant kisses along her neck, if this was going to be the last time he saw her, he might as well make it worth it.

A fear filled her suddenly - what if he was just using her? Even as she kissed him, her mind was whirling. She knew it showed in every action the fear that gripped her, but she didn't pull away.

"Kaen?" he pulled away slightly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," it was an obvious, downright, lie, but she had no idea how to state it. How did you explain an irrational fear rationally?

Erol was obviously not convinced, but he didn't press her further as his lips brushed her cheek.

Now she was really close to crying. It wasn't normal, it wasn't right. Of everyone in the world she was the last person alive who deserved to feel so very...loved. She didn't deserve something like this, never. Yet she stayed where she was, mind whirling with more emotions than she ever thought possible.

"Kaen," he murmured quietly, nipping gently at the base of her neck.

"What?" she whispered in his ear, lips a hairs breadth away. Well, if he was using her, she might as well let him. If she found out this was the case, she could take revenge later.

He rubbed his nose against her neck, not having an answer for her.

She kissed his forehead, his eyes, his lips, begging for forever. Stupid weakness of desire.

He felt his breath catch as he brushed his lips against her neck; he never wanted it to end.

Outside the door, Arbner motioned to his men. He would end this once and for all, doing what the commander could not. Maybe he'd even be commander after Erol had been taken care of. Who could ever know?

His confidence evaporated the moment he pushed the door open to peek in. They, he, she… No, this wasn't possible! No! Never! True, he hated the little bitch, but he would not allow this to continue. So he motioned his men forward silently, stepping inside the detention center with great care.

Erol felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, like he was being watched and he pulled away from Kaen, glancing back over his shoulder. "Oh god..."

She whirled around, the dark gleam back in her eyes. "Look who it is. And how are you Captain Arbner?"

"Much better than you two will be in a minute," he hissed, holding his men back. "Maybe I can take over both your jobs when I drag your corpses back to the Baron with an explanation. How does that sound?"

"Like you're only kidding yourself again," Erol said, moving to place himself directly between Kaen and Arbner.

"I never kid around," the other man said proudly, "I don't need to. I have more dignity than that. More dignity than either of you can ever hope of having. Especially you, my darling Kaen. I would have never thought you a slut of all things..." he smiled grimly, as though it hurt him to say it.

Erol began to walk slowly forward, keeping himself between the captain and the gang mistress. His gun was still over there, where Kaen had left it. Keeping his expression unreadable he said, "Don't you _ever_ call Kaen that you bastard."

"No." Surprisingly, it was Kaen, not Arbner, who said it. "Let him call me whatever he likes. Let him have that one last freedom. In a moment, he'll have no freedom at all."

"Fine." Erol kept moving, hoping Arbner and his men wouldn't pick up on why.

Kaen withdrew her own gun and turned away from the group, facing a far off corner. Moving her lips very distinctly, she said, "It's not as if I'm going to die." And then she fired a shot, hitting the corner straight on. A blaring alarm went off, nearly shattering her eardrums. A Black Ops camera - she had installed it herself. A perfect distraction.

The moment the alarm went off Erol bolted forward, grabbed his gun and spun, sprinting back towards Kaen.

"See you in hell Arbner," she called out to the man, before heading to the nearest door. To Erol she said, "You better start thinking about where to hide, because I think this is the last time you'll have a chance to ponder."


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Update again… Here we are, Chapter Sixteen… Blah blah blah… Cayden, Valen, Kaen, Arbner and several other minor characters I don't care to mention belong to us. Knives belong to me. Kleenex® belongs to Kleenex. Everything and everyone else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

Cayden was pulled out of his thoughts when the alarms went off. The detention center had a camera down, which could only mean one thing. Kaen was still alive. His heart leapt in his chest; if she was still alive then all was not lost.

"We can still win this fight!" he shouted to his new goldfish, which he had, for some unfathomable reason, named John. "I need to call all to me!" He glanced at the camera and roared angrily, "Arbner! You little," he called the man something that should not be written down.

Picking up the phone, the head of Black Ops couldn't help melodramatically adding, "If we do not save her, all shall be lost."

Erol had grabbed Kaen's wrist on the way out the door, a temporary location coming to mind. It wasn't ideal, but it would do for a while.

By lucky chance, Kaen had managed to switch gears from sappy to survival. Her brain was working on overdrive, planning out her movements over the next few days, especially revenge on Arbner. She smiled as the plan took form, becoming a win-win reality. Timing, however, would be everything. But she was willing to wait.

He came to a rather sudden stop in front of a door. "Here."

She hadn't been paying attention, so when he stopped she was rather shocked, "Where? Sorry, my mind was…wandering." The last word sounded very, very dangerous and suggestively violent.

Erol barely responded, he just opened the door and pulled her inside. He released his grip on her wrist as he whipped around to lock the door. The air inside was cool and he shuddered to get used to the change. He glanced at Kaen, "We can't stay here too long."

"No kidding!" she was shivering like crazy. It felt like a freezer! "I might turn into a popsicle!"

"Give me a sec, I'll fix it," he walked over to the wall and adjusted the thermostat, "It should warm up in a minute."

"When was the last time this room was used?" It made her feel bad to be so picky, but she just couldn't abide the cold.

"Umm…" he paused, "About a week ago."

"Whose room is this? It's like Valen's old quarters, in a warped sort of way, except his was warm and smelled of burned food. Or stale rotting food, I could never tell." Oh god, she thought, I'm babbling on. The cold was going to her head; there was no doubt about it. She shivered again.

"If you're really that interested, we're in _my_ quarters," he sighed.

"What?! Of all the places…" Kaen decided to take it that he'd only chosen his room for a safe hiding place. "You can live in this climate?"

He nodded, "I can, quite easily."

Kaen shuddered once more, "You can have it. Anyway, moving along…aren't you going to show me around? I need to see all possible escape routes."

"Alright," he beckoned her to follow him, "You make it sound like I'm some kind of freak," shaking his head he began the quick tour.

"How so? I mean, I'm not denying it or anything – a freak could describe your personality," she teased.

He rolled his eyes, "Forget I said anything," he pointed to a doorway on his left, "Kitchen, up ahead is the bathroom, next to that is a closet." He jerked his thumb to the right, "Living space, the first door is my 'office' and the last one's my bedroom. Any questions?"

"Doors and windows? Cameras, other than the ones Cayden planted?"

"Cayden put cameras in my quarters?"

She shrugged, "The moment you looked at me funny, you had cameras in your home and a constant trail. Cayden finally got rid of the trailer, but the cameras stayed."

He glanced around warily, "I feel strangely insecure all of a sudden…"

"Don't." she took a small circular device out of her pocket, then turned to the corner and blew it a kiss. "See ya Cayden." Then she pressed the center of the disk and put it down on the nearest flat surface. "Disruptor," she explained.

"Convenient."

"Indeed. Do you feel less invaded now?"

"Much." He stretched and cracked his fingers, "You're free to look around and get acquainted with the place."

"'Kay, I'm going to your office. I need to hack on to Cayden's system. I can show you too, while I'm at it," she set off in that direction.

He followed, might as well watch.

Kaen walked in, sat down and opened up the internet, "You going to check your email?"

"Probably should."

She got up and moved out of the way, "Go for it."

"Thanks," he opened up his email, "Oh god." There were about twenty messages, all from Keira. He glanced at Kaen, selected all of them, and quickly hit delete without opening one.

"From the girl at the stadium?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he closed the window and stood, "All yours."

"Thanks," Kaen sat back down and opened Black Ops homepage. "Alright Cayden…what are you up to today…" she hit the login button; then typed in her name and password. "First we go through me," she looked at Erol, "You don't need to log in to my account to hack into Cayden's."

"Good to know, I guess. _Why_ are you teaching me this?"

"So you can save your skin from the Baron," she had about a hundred emails in her inbox, but she ignored them and moved into another program, which was called – surprise – 'Hack.' "Then you go in here…"

He kept close attention to what she did. No doubt it'd be useful.

"His code name is 'Machoman' and his password is 'loyalty,'" she explained with a grin, "It used to be the family motto – Without Fear There is No Courage – but I told him to change it. But that's just something on the side.

"Log in to his account, the press the 'video' button. In there you can edit video, create loops, and all manner of other things." She clicked into the most recent video feed. It was of Arbner and his cronies being arrested. Nothing to be deleted, "Let's go to a different video- this one isn't worth changing." She clicked to the video before it and stopped. She'd forgotten there'd be a recording of this.

Erol felt his cheeks flush with color. He'd even _known_ about the cameras in the detention center. "Would you say that one's worth changing?"

"Honestly? That's up to you."

He shrugged, "We can probably leave it. Unless you think Praxis will get a hold of it."

"He won't, unless Valen's sent it out on the network…But I don't think he will – he'll still be in shock."

"God, he'd better not…" Erol glanced at the screen again, "Might as well leave it then."

"Yeah…You know what? Let's go to Valen's journal instead." She clicked the 'Hack' button again and typed in the words 'Hopeless.Romantic' and a password.

"He's got a journal? Wow, that's…" he paused, "Actually insanely easy to believe."

"I know. Here we are," Kaen clicked onto 'Journal' and opened a new page labeled 'Valen's Journal.' "Anything you want to know?"

"Should I be scared of this?"

She nodded, "Yep. I'll show you." She selected an entry that was almost a year old. "You ready for this?"

"No."

"Well, you can leave if you want…" she grinned, "If you're too much of a chicken to stay…"

"I'm intrigued but worried about my sanity," he suddenly laughed, "Never mind, I just realized the irrationality of that sentence, go for it."

"Okay… I'll ready it out." She cleared her throat. "Dear diary, yesterday I took Erol and Kaen out drinking. It was shocking, but not unexpected. The boy is," she paused and her face went blood red, "definitely in love wither her. It hurt since I've loved him for so long. Today I walked into his room and found him with his shirt off. What a gorgeous body."

"Oh god…"

"Why? Why diary?" she pressed on, ignoring his words, "I suppose she's better for him than I am, but I can't help imagining," she started to laugh hysterically, "His lips against mine."

"Oh god. Kaen stop it."

"Why should I? You're being educated."

He sighed, "Just…"

"Oh, this is a gem. 'As this is a journal, I think I can tell anything. So I'll also admit that I dream about him at night, sleeping beside me…" Kaen burst out laughing and couldn't continue.

Erol leaned over, took control of the mouse and closed the window. He couldn't speak.

"Aww. Is someone embarrassed?"

He glared at her, face bright red.

She reached up and patted his cheek. "Now you're enlightened."

"Thanks," he muttered.

Still laughing, Kaen logged out of the entire system. "What time is it, do you suppose?"

"Nearly eleven."

"Oh dear. If I'm going to be up by five, I should probably turn in. Now that it's dark out, leaving without detection shouldn't be difficult." She got up and headed for the front door.

Erol caught her before she'd left, "_Where_ do you think you're going?"

"Slums, alley, hide. Or maybe leave the city. Like I should have done in the first place."

"I guess I wasn't overly clear…"

"What do you mean then? Now that it's night, I can get out of the city, no problem. Probably head for the wasteland or something."

He sighed, "We could come up with somewhere better tomorrow, unless you're set on going to the wasteland."

"No. I just want to get out of your hair."

"I don't mind. Why don't you stay here?"

"Do you have any idea how awkward it is even being here?"

He shrugged, "Not particularly. But you don't have to worry about spending the night in unfamiliar territory."

"This," she sighed, "Is more unfamiliar than the alleys of the slums. You make it sound like I've never slept in an alley before." She looked rather hurt.

"Have you?"

"Of course. Spent a month down there."

"Fine then, but personally I'd feel better knowing you were somewhere…more secure than that."

"Like here?"

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'll take the couch I suppose."

He shook his head, "No way in hell."

"Well I'm sure as hell not sleeping on the floor."

"I wouldn't suggest it. I'll take the couch. You can us my room."

"No!"

"Yes."

She crossed her arms, "It's rude."

"No, it's not. It'd be rude if I tried to make you take the couch."

"You take the bed. I really don't mind sleeping on the couch or floor. Taking your room will only make me feel worse than I already do."

"Kaen," he put his hands on her shoulders, "It's fine, really."

"Are you absolutely, totally, completely and utterly sure? I really…I mean…I've already been a horrid burden today…"

"I'm sure. Alright? And you're not a burden."

She blinked sleepily, "Fine. You win."

He kissed her forehead, "Good-night."

"Night," she kissed his cheek and went off to the bedroom.

Erol walked over to the couch and lay down, he had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

Kaen shut the door behind her, walked over to the bed and passed out.

Five o'clock came too quickly and before Kaen knew it, her alarm had gone off. But she wasn't one to hit the snooze button, so she got up immediately. This morning she had a mission and she would not fail.

It took a few minutes of scrounging to find a towel and another few to figure out the shower. Kaen couldn't help but notice the cover-up Erol had in one of his drawers. Next time she saw him, she'd ask about it.

By the time six o'clock came, Kaen was dressed and ready to leave the apartment. By the time Erol woke up, she'd be long gone, if all went as planned. Carefully she snuck over to his side and kissed his forehead. "Thanks," she whispered, then straightened and turned to leave. After what had happened the night before, she was glad to escape. Facing him would be torture.

Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned and as the young woman walked away, she tripped on something and fell flat on her face, making a loud 'thump' when she hit the ground. "So much for secrecy," she muttered to the floor.

Erol jerked awake at the sound, hand going instinctively to his gun. That was when he saw her. He barely stifled a laugh, "Trying to sneak off?"  
"_No_. I just enjoy falling flat from time to time," she said to the floor, not daring to sit up in fear he'd see her blood red face. "But if you must know, I was trying to get out without waking you up."

He laughed and got up, feeling his stiff body protest against the movement. "That's awfully sweet of you." He knelt and poked her in the shoulder gently, "You okay?"

"Other than the carpet pattern imprinted in my face, I'm great. And you?"

"Stiff," he stood again, "You might want to get up before you _actually_ get a carpet imprint."

With great hesitation – her face was still red – Kaen pushed herself up and onto the couch. "Happy now?"

"Quite," he stretched and rolled his neck, "You're blushing," he commented.

"Shut up." She snapped, only going redder. She could've kicked herself.

He smiled; he'd known that would only make her blush more.

"You're doing this on purpose. Why must you torture me like this?"

He shrugged, "No idea."

"Well either way, you're awake, so I can say a proper farewell." Kaen took his hand and shook it, "Thank you for taking me in for the night. I'll see you later."

He smirked, "Anytime. But where exactly do you plan to go now?"

"_Home_. Back to the manor."

"And if the assassins are still in place?"

"I get shot or I shoot," she shrugged, "Who can tell? I'm not as worried today as I was last night."

He released her hand, "Well…" he paused, "I hope you're right."

"ABSOLUTELEY NOT!" a voice bellowed from nowhere, "CAYDEN SAYS THERE MAY STILL BE A THREAT! AND I TOLD YOU TO HIDE HER AS LONG AS POSSIBLE EROL! YOU PROMISED!"

The redhead jerked at the sound of Valen's voice, he glanced around before figuring out it must be coming from the cameras or a different device. "Cool it Val." He said as calmly as he could while his mind brought back the journal entry Kaen had shown him.

"Sorry, I'm just offended that SHE HACKED INTO MY JOURNAL!"

She rolled her eyes, "You've just realized this?"

"How long have you been keeping that anyway?" Erol asked nonchalantly before muttering, "Hopeless.Romantic."

"About seven years now. Ever since I became Black Ops. But this is beside the point. I have limited time to talk. You two need to get out of here, but not as yourselves. Eat first, though, cause I dunno the next time you'll get food."

Erol nodded, "Fine. Thanks for the heads up."

"Yep. Nice romantic moment by the way – I watched the recording." With a chuckle Valen switched the hidden speakers off.

"Well you heard him. Come on, I'll whip up something."

"And I will avoid the kitchen like the plague."

Erol blinked at her, "Care to explain why?"

"I'm cursed. The cooks at the manor have banned me for life. Would you like a demonstration?"

"Definitely."

"Fine," she sighed, heading towards the room, "Don't blame me for whatever happens."

"I won't."

It really was like a curse had been put upon her. The moment her foot crossed over into the kitchen, she slipped and fell, grabbing onto the counter. She managed to pull herself into a semi-upright position, dragging herself over to the table. The moment she sat down, the chair broke, sending her to the floor. When she managed to get up again, she accidentally turned on the stove, starting her hand on fire. Scrambling for the sink, her good hand touched the button to open the microwave door, which sprang open and whacked her in the nose so hard it started to bleed.

Kaen practically crawled into the living area again, pinching her nose. "Happy now?"

Erol raised an eyebrow, "You've got to be kidding me. How the hell did you manage to pull _that_ off?"

"I told you – I'm cursed. I'm going to go nurse my wounds. Have any Kleenex?"

"Yeah, here," he randomly pulled some Kleenex from his pocket, "There's more on the coffee table. I'll be back in a minute to help with your hand."

"Thanks," she took the Kleenex and attempted to stifle the flow. "Never make me do that again.

"Okay, I won't," he headed towards the bathroom and came back with a canister of green eco. "Let me see your hand."

Kaen held it out, "Thanks again."

"No problem," he looked at her hand, "It's not as bad as it could be," he put some of the eco on her palm.

"Thank god. That'd be just what I needed – red hand on top of everything else."

He gently rubbed it on the burn, "I think the worst part is not being able to use your hand…"

"What does your scar look like?"

"What scar?"

"You've burned your hand – that's why you wear gloves, or one of the reasons."

He sighed and pulled off his gloved, showing her the palm of his right hand.

She lightly brushed her good fingers against it, "You do this yourself?" she traced it over and over again.

"Yep, well mostly. Blame Jance. He instigated it anyway. I was depressed; he was bored and dared me to." Erol gave the mark a disinterested look.

"It's odd. But it doesn't seem bad enough to have to wear gloves. Why do you wear them?" she asked; then added quickly, "Only if you want to tell me of course."

He shrugged, "I didn't like it. And Dad would've killed me if he knew I'd set my hand on fire." Erol sighed.

"You're lying, but I'll let it slide this time," she grinned.

He looked at her hand; the eco seemed to be doing its job. The burn was healing up. Brushing his hand over her palm one final time he straightened, "I should probably get started on some food. Want anything in particular?"

"I doubt you have quail eggs, so I'll just say, 'Surprise me'."

He laughed, "No I don't. I'll see what I can pull off."

"Okay. I don't think I'll travel into the kitchen this time though."

"No, I don't think you should." Shaking his head in disbelief Erol wandered into the kitchen to start making something.

Kaen leaned back on the couch, "It's not even noon and today's easily been one of the weirdest days of my life."

Erol heard the comment but decided not to reply. After a few moments of contemplating he pulled out ingredients and began to actually prepare something.

Realizing that it would be a long time before she'd see him reemerge, Kaen took out her phone and tapped into her home phone messages. Might as well be productive while on the run from insane assassins.

About ten minutes after he'd entered the kitchen Erol came back into the living area holding two plates, each with an omelet on it. "Here," he held one out to Kaen, "It's probably nothing like what you're used to, but...it's better than Valen's."

She shrugged, "I've lived off prison food since I was three. Nothing scares me anymore. Nothing at all." She took the plate and cut into the omelette, taking a tiny delicate bite. Her table etiquette was impeccable.

Erol raised an eyebrow; he hadn't really been expecting the table manners.

"What?"

"I'm a slummer, remember? We were all raised in barns."

"Well I suspect you've grown out of it now," she smiled, "Father taught me to eat like a lady. Those are his words, not mine."

Erol laughed, "Whatever works."

"And it's very good, by the way. If you weren't otherwise employed, I'd hire you. That way I can keep an eye on you - sometimes you really do worry me."

"Thanks. Um...What do you mean that I 'worry' you?"

"You're sly, untrustworthy, a skilled liar, a kiss-ass and several other things I don't feel like mentioning."

"Where in the world do you get the idea that I can lie?"

"The Baron actually thought you might kill me, didn't he? Or maybe you weren't lying and then we have a whole different problem."

"That's just the aforementioned 'kiss-ass' part. Lying to him is easy, it's all 'Yes Sir' and you're done."

"You know, sometimes I really wish you'd been higher born," she laughed.

"_What_ do you mean by that?"

"What do you think I mean by that?" Kaen was interested to see what he was thinking before telling him what she meant.

It was some kind of test, he could tell that much. "I think it means that you would prefer it if I had _not_ been born in the slums so you'd feel less guilty about actually being around me."

"That is not what I meant! I was merely commenting on the fact we should have snatched you up when you first joined the KG, but regulations said we couldn't. I have no problem being around you." She paused, trying to figure out where his idea had come from. Then she got it, "Valen was talking about some of the family's rules and regulations, wasn't he?"

"Yep."

"That explains an awful lot. That man needs to control his tongue sometimes," she sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

"Tell me about it."

"I could, but then I'd have to stop eating, and that would be rather unfortunate."

"Glad you like it," he looked at her, "Or at least you _seem_ to like it."

"I suppose I could be humoring you, but I don't really see the point. You're not the type of person I like to lie to."

He gave her a weird look, "And that means...?"

"I lie to some people because I feel bad for them. You are strong enough to listen to my bluntness. Not rocket science."

"I feel complimented." And with that he went back to eating.

Kaen copied him, contemplating their last conversation.

Erol polished off his omelette and waited for her to finish hers. He stood, holding out his hand for her plate.

She passed it to him. "I suspect that we should probably get on to that disguise thing?" she quickly added, "And thanks for the food."

He smirked, "My pleasure. And yeah, we should."

She got up and brushed herself off. "I doubt you randomly keep girls clothing around, but I'm still going to ask... Do you have anything that I could wear?"

He cast a cursory glance over her, eyes lingering on an area or two, "No, I don't believe I do."

"Well, improvisation it is. And please, never look at me like that ever again."

He put his free hand up defensively, "I was 'sizing you up.' I meant nothing by it, but I won't. I don't particularly like those bruises you manage to give me."

"Such beautiful violence. Ah well, at least we have a clear understanding. Now we should get to it. I need to pick someone up on our way out of here."


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Hi all. Next chapter... New character (hooray) and random teasing. Anyway...

Kaen, Ripp, Cayden and Leeta belong to us. Knives belong to me. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog...

* * *

Erol stood in the bathroom staring at his reflection. He'd spent the last ten minutes covering up his tattoos anywhere they could be seen. He hesitated before reaching into a drawer to pull out a set of contact lenses. He put them in blinking rapidly and glanced at his reflection again. It'd do.

He walked back out into the living room. Kaen was still there, "So how're you making out?"

"I'll be even better if you have some black spray paint." Kaen poked her hair, internally moaning the inevitable loss of the red streaks and silver tips. "How are _you _making out?" It was then his new look registered, "What in the…"

He laughed, "Nice reaction time. Judging from that, I'd say I made out alright."

"You look so weird."

"Weird as in I'll stick out? Or weird cause it's not normal for me?"

"The latter." She poked her hair again, "You sure you don't have any black or purple spray paint?"

"What? Oh right… I think I might have black. Let me check."

"Thanks."

He left and came back with an aerosol can. "Here."

"Mind if I steal the bathroom for a minute?" she asked, taking the paint.

"Go for it."

So she did, wishing to be in any other situation. For some reason, Kaen found her hair to be the one thing she did not like changing. However, her pain was short and five minutes later she remerged, hair pure black, but still in a bun. "Here. And thanks again," she passed the can back.

"You're welcome. Now," he reached out to stick his fingers in the bun, "This has got to go."

"Hell no! I do not put my hair down!" She tried to push him away and protect her hair at the same time.

"And I'm supposed to have gold eyes, what's your point?"

"I refuse to put my hair down. There's no other point."

He slipped around behind her and proceeded to free her hair from the style.

"OY!" she scrambled to try and put it back up, but stopped after a minute or two, letting it fall freely instead. "Not fair."

"Yeah, I know," Erol smirked, running his fingers through her hair a few times.

"Do you have some fascination with my hair?"

"No. You should wear it down more often, it's pretty."

She went slightly red.

"You're blushing again."

"No I'm not," she snapped, coloring more.

"Yes you are." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, "We should probably go."

"Indeed. Are you thinking of going where I'm thinking of going?"

"Probably not. Your plan's probably better than mine so we'll go with yours."

"First, we need to get to the slums. I have someone to pick up."

He shrugged, "You said that earlier, care to say who?"

"Blade or Ripp, depends on what you want to call him. And I suggest you don't approach – he might kill you."

"Good to know. Let's go."

"Excellent." Kaen kept touching her hair. "It's so _unnatural_," she muttered over and over again.

He brushed past her as they headed through the building, headed to where he'd parked. Standing outside the vehicle he looked at her, "Where to in the slums?"

"Street name? No idea. Can you follow my walking directions?"

"Sure. Shouldn't be too hard. I still know my way around there."

"Great. Let's go."

It was a fairly short trip, with Erol driving they always were. "Here?" he asked glancing at the rather non-descript alley. Kaen's directions had taken them to.

"Yeah. Wait a minute." She jumped out and headed in. "Blade!" she called, "BLADE!"

He practically materialized from the shadows, "Kaen?"

"The one and only. Sorry for the no show the other day – I was held up."

Blade shrugged, "It's alright," he glanced back towards the end of the alley warily, "Who's the guy?"

"Promise not to kill me?"

His eyes were fixed on the end of the alley, "Sure."

"It's," she winced, "Erol."

Blade spun eyes wide and scared, "You sold me out?!"

"No. You're my friend, so I couldn't do something like that. Due to some unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances, I have managed to turn him into a wanted man. Or he did it to himself. I can't be sure."

"Well that's an odd turn of events. What are you doing here?"

"Fulfilling some old promises, in case I get murdered or something."

He gave her a blank look, "What old…? Oh! Really?" Realization dawned on him.

"Yep," she smiled, "Now come on! We've got to go!"

"Okay," he agreed, casting Erol another wary glance.

Without really checking to see if he was following, Kaen headed back to Erol. "He doesn't trust you," she whispered to him as she got in.

"You think?" he whispered back.

Blade got into the vehicle silently, sitting as far away from Erol as possible.

"So now where?" Erol asked, turning to Kaen.

"I've got a promise to keep. We've got to go to the underground. I'm assuming you know where that is?"

He nodded, "Been monitoring the base for months. Torn could really try to be more subtle sometimes."

"It's _Torn_. He'll be horrid to face though. I'm not looking forward to this."

"I am," the commander took his hand from the wheel and cracked his knuckles.

"Erol!" Blade shouted, "Don't kill us!"

"Agreed. Must you go at the speed of sound?"

"Fine."

Kaen relaxed, "Thank you." She tried to glare at him, but she was too relieved to pull it off.

Erol stopped at the entrance to a dead end street. On one side was the very large symbol of the resistance. "Here we are."

"Very well. Ripp? Or should we call you Blade?"

"What?" the young man asked, replying to both names.

"Do you want us to call you Ripp or Blade when we go in?"

"Blade."

"Okay," she glanced at Erol, "You coming?"

He shrugged, "Do I really have a choice?"

"You could stay here while me and Blade go talk to Torn."

"Nah, I'll come," he said getting out.

Blade edged over to Kaen, obviously not trusting the other man one iota.

Kaen sighed and patted his shoulder, "He won't bite, even if he did originally send me to kill you."

"Jerk," he muttered, glaring at Erol.

"Oh get over it," the other man sighed.

She rolled her eyes, "Let's just go inside. Try to play nice – this will be an awful lot of fun I think."

Erol walked over to where the underground logo had been painted and he was mildly surprised when the panel slid away to reveal a door, he glanced back at the other two, "For not wanting to be found he's made this insanely easy."

"Since I doubt even he'd be dumb enough to try and trap us, it's probably so he can figure out how to get in himself."

"I'm not that stupid, but now I'm very interested to know who you are to warrant my wanting to trap you," a dry voice said as Torn stepped out of the doorway.

"Same old Torn. Don't you recognize my dulcet tones?" Kaen said, rolling her eyes.

He glared at her, "I wish I didn't Kaen." He glanced at Erol and Blade, "But as for you two…"

Erol sneered, "I'm hurt you don't remember me. Particularly because you're under the impression I single-handedly ruined your life."

Kaen sighed, "Can I have a quick word before you kill each other? There's someone who wants to meet you Torn and because I'm a good person, I decided to bring them. Blade?" she beckoned with a finger.

Torn crossed his arms over his chest and arched a would-be eyebrow at her.

Blade walked over to her, eyes fixed on the ground.

"You learn a lot when you dabble with gangs. Now, the pair of you can have a little chat. I'll be watching." She backed up to give them room.

Erol slipped out of Torn's way, he stood next to Kaen and just watched.

Torn glared at Blade and took a few steps towards him, "What the hell do you want?"

Blade glanced up, then looked away again, his throat too tight to speak.

"Look kid, I've got better things to do right now."

Kaen leaned over and whispered in Erol's ear, "I wonder if Torn will realize it's Ripp before he attacks him."

"At the moment, I'm doubting it," he whispered back.

"Torn," Blade looked up, finally able to meet Torn's gaze.

"Oh god…" the older man breathed, "It's you."

"Apparently we were wrong," she grinned, "He'll attack Ripp _after_ he recognizes him."

She was right. The next thing anyone knew, Torn's fist had collided with Blade's face. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Kaen had to keep herself in check. If Ripp froze up – and only if Ripp froze up – she'd jump in and help. Not a moment before.

Torn grabbed the front of Ripp's shirt, "Where were you?!" he demanded.

There was utter terror in the other man's eyes. "Let go of me!" he sounded desperate.

"Not until you give me an answer!" Torn snarled.

Ripp tried to get away, struggling to pry Torn's hand off him. He succeeded, but only for a moment and then Torn had him by the bandana instead.

Suddenly there was a knife to Torn's throat. "That's no way to treat a long lost relative."

The hand around Ripp's bandana let go and Torn glared at Kaen. Ripp moved away, adjusting the fabric around his throat.

"Funny how I, the one who blew up your family, was the one to find the little brother who escaped. Don't' you agree?" She pulled the knife away, letting the blade slice a thin line in Torn's neck.

"Utterly ironic," he muttered still glaring at her.

Erol had walked over to Ripp, the young man was staring wild-eyed and breathing heavily, "You okay kid?"

Ripp shook his head vigorously.

"Wow Torn, you really are still a dick," Kaen sighed, leaving to check on her friend, "You're going to be fine Ripp. He's not your father."

"_What_ does my dad have to do with any of this?" Torn demanded.

"He'll tell you when he's ready, if he'll be ready with you acting the way you are. Like it's all his fault."

Ripp sank to his knees shaking violently, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him.

She dropped to the ground beside him and grinned, "You ready for me to keep my second promise?"

He glanced at her, "Right now?"

"In a minute." She looked up at Erol, "Want to sort out some differences?"

"Not right now. If that's how he treats someone he used to like…"

"Right." She glanced at Torn, "Cayden will be paying a visit soon to collect your taxes."

Torn gave her a blank look.

Erol offered Ripp and hand up, which the younger man accepted. He looked at Kaen, "Now where?"

"My house." She smiled sarcastically at Torn, "And tax translates to two things. First, the money you owe for using my property. Second, the hundred thousand you owe from family debt."

Both members of said family gaped at her.

"Why look so surprised? Your dad was an alcoholic, he'd have to support his habit somehow. He drank away the med school fund, then came crying to Faine for help. So now, you get to pay it all back. Actually, because Torn's older, _he_ gets to pay it all back."

"I'm sure we'll be seeing you again soon," Erol smirked, "Mull that one over for a while."

"Indeed. Now, to my house!" Kaen couldn't help but snigger evilly at Torn's misfortune. She had tossed on a little interest when she found out he'd have to pay.

Erol got back into his vehicle, followed by Ripp, "I suppose you'll want me to go slow again, don't you?"

"Unless you want to piece me together again afterwards, yes."

"Fine."

"Fine to the first or to the second?"

"I'll drive slow," he rolled his eyes.

"Right. Okay. Look for the mammoth manor."

"Alright, I actually think I know where that is."

"It's difficult to miss, something that huge. It's a square city block you know. But that's beside the point since we're not even going there. No, we're heading to the Guard's house. It's nearby. That's where Cayden lives with his little sister," she glanced at Ripp, "Leeta."

Ripp sighed and looked very pointedly away.

"Don't worry about it. Look, Cayden fought me long and hard about letting you come see her, he really doesn't want you there. Mostly because he doesn't like you, but also because he doesn't want to repeat the last seven years."

"What do you mean 'repeat' the last seven years?"

"You don't honestly think she's gotten over you, have you?!"

"Why wouldn't she?"

She sighed, "Dear Ripp, people from our families, meaning mine and Leeta's, never fall out of love. If she loved you when she was fourteen, she certainly loves you now!"

He shrugged, "Still seems unlikely to me…"

"You'll see." She turned her attention back to Erol, "We almost there?"

"Yeah, next turn I think."

"Excellent. Have you ever seen my house?"

"Probably."

"You'd know, it's pretty disti-" her eyes lit up as the manor came into view, "Here we are. Home sweet occupied home."

Erol stopped, "I think I'll wait here this time."

"I'll be back in a minute. If suddenly I get shot down as we walk past the house, you'll know why." She hopped out and headed down a nearby side street.

Ripp got out and followed her, trying not to let his hesitation show.

Kaen turned left, then left, then right, coming to a stop in front of a plain looking house. "Here we go. Want me to come in with you?"

He shrugged, but his face was white beneath the tattoos.

"Alright, I guess I'll stay for a moment." Kaen stepped up to the door and knocked. The door was opened by an older gentleman, the butler.

"Yes?"

"We're here to see Leeta. _Now_."

The man bowed, "Of course Miss Kaen. Can I get your guest's name so I can announce him?"

"No. He's a surprise."

"Very well. Come inside," he bowed out of the way to let the visitors enter.

Kaen went inside, nodding to Ripp to follow.

Ripp followed, glancing around at the interior the house with a look of slight recognition.

"This way please." The man headed down the hall and into a living area. A gorgeous young woman with blonde hair was lounging on the couch, eyes closed. The butler cleared his throat and announced, "Miss Kaen and a friend."

The woman opened her eyes and glanced at them. "Thank you Darius. You are dismissed." He bowed again and left. Turning to Kaen, she said, "It's an honour to see you. How may I help?"

"I've brought someone to visit. I'll leave the pair of you alone." The crime lady shoved Ripp into the room and left, closing the door behind her.

He stared at her, he couldn't help it. She was prettier than he remembered. "Leeta," he breathed, unable to take his eyes from her.

"Yes? Who in the world are you?"

"Um…" a hand went to the back of his neck. "Oh god…this is awkward."

She blinked, "Is it? You know, you look awfully familiar."

"Leeta…it's me. Ripp…"

"R-r-r-r-r…" she stuttered, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time, "Ripp? The Ripp? My R-" she stopped abruptly, a blush spreading over her cheeks.

He nodded, hand still tracing the back of his neck.

Leeta stood up, walked over and slapped him as hard as she could. "How could you do this?!"

It hurt worse than the punch Torn had given him. He looked at the ground unable to give her an answer, "Sorry."

"You are such an idiot!" she cried, tossing her arms around his neck, "You are an immature, self-serving, irritating, egotistical, wonderful idiot!"

He froze, unsure what to do.

"I can't believe you'd have the guts to show up here, all high and mighty after torturing me for the past seven years! Do you have any idea how painful losing you was?"

"I…no…" he shook his head and attempted to resume his agitated neck tracing, but his hand was trapped by her arm.

"I'm never going to forgive you!" she declared, kissing his cheek.

He finally put his free arm around her, "That doesn't make sense."

"I know," she sighed, "I'm absolutely hopeless at making any sense."

Ripp managed to pull his other hand free and wrapped it around her, "I missed you so much."

She rearranged how she was hugging him so as to give herself the space to rest her head on his shoulder, which she did. "Not as much as I did."

He just pulled her closer, gently caressing her hair, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

She shook her head and smiled, "Whatever. Can I ask you a question though? It's a little sensitive."

"Sure, anything."

"Did your dad give you this?" her fingers brushed under the bandana around his neck. "I saw it for a second and it's on your old profile that Black Ops has. The one labelled 'terminated'," her voice grew sad for a moment, then became bubbly once more, "But you're not terminated are you." It was a statement more than a question.

He reached up and gripped her adventurous fingers gently, "He did." He moved her hand away from his neck, "I'd kinda prefer if you didn't..." he trailed off.

"Okay," she said simply, not putting up much of a fight. "Sensitive spot?"

"Very."

"Very well then. I'll avoid it like the plague." She smiled, curling up closer to him. Seven years was an awfully long time.

He rested his cheek on her head shifting his arms slightly. He hadn't realized how much he'd really missed her until now.

"You know, I'm an absolutely horrid host. I've haven't even offered you a seat."

He laughed quietly, "At least you've taken this better than my brother. I think he could've killed me. Compared to that, standing for a while's easy."

"Torn is a pain. He makes running this city so much harder on my brother and Miss Kaen. I'm fairly lucky that I don't have to deal with that."

Ripp shrugged, "He's a jerk sometimes."

"Guess it runs in the family."

"What do you mean by that?!"

She grinned, "You can be a jerk too. Don't pretend to be so innocent."

"When, apart from not telling you I was fine, was I ever a jerk?"

"Leaving me. But I've decided to forgive you. I've even decided to reward you."

"Oh?"

She pressed her lips to his.

He was caught slightly off guard by the action, but recovered from it, returning the kiss.

"There. Do you feel rewarded?"

"Very, though I don't deserve it."

"No, you certainly don't." She kissed him again, "I just don't get it!"

His lips brushed against her cheek and he rubbed his nose against her neck. "You're not wearing perfume," he commented, "When'd you stop?'

"After training, I guess. I had no need anymore."

He nodded slowly, "Fair enough."

"Yeah. My teacher said that a scent was too easy to follow. Tell you the truth, I sort of miss it."

"I remember when you started wearing it..."

"Do you?"

"I do. It was about a week after I passed out in gym and a few days before I turned up here in the middle of the night."

"You have a better memory than I do. Do you remember why?"

"Why what?"

"Why I started wearing it?"

"No."

"Hmmm...neither do I. I suppose it was either I just needed a change or it was for you."

"For me? You serious?"

"Why not?" she looked at him strangely, "Does it surprise you or something?"

He nodded, "Yes actually, it does."

"Well, don't let it. It drove Cayden nuts. That's why he was so reluctant to let you it." Her smile widened, "It's all coming back now."

"I'm glad he actually did though."

"Or else you wouldn't be holding me right now."

"No," he muttered sadly, "I wouldn't."

"But you are!" Leeta stroked his hair, "Dwelling on the past won't change it."

"Don't I know it." One of his hands went subconsciously back to his neck.

"It's true. If our house dwelled on the past, we'd all be killing ourselves left, right and center!"

"Well," he began, a slight grin playing around his lips, "I'm _very_ glad that your house doesn't."

"That's what Dad did. I was eight. I was at camp," she sighed. "For some reason, me and Cayden were born without the suicide gene."

"And I hope you never develop one." A distant look came to his eyes and some of the color drained from his face.

"What?" she asked, touching his cheek.

"Just something I did once..."

"Sit," she commanded, pointing to the couch, "Tell."

He moved over to the couch and sat, pulling up the sleeve on his left arm. He trailed his finger up his wrist stopping about halfway to his elbow. "Here. That's where the phone rang."

She stared, "No way... Who called?"

"You."

"What? I..." it hit her, "The day I called and you said you were in the bathroom?"

"Yep. That's what I'd been doing."

"I'm torn between slapping you and hugging you. Which do you think is a better response?"

"The hug."

So she did, holding him tight. "You are a world class idiot."

"Yeah," he clung to her, showing a deeper set of emotions he'd been denying for years, "I know that now."

"I'm half tempted to make you stay so I can keep an eye on you. You worry me," she pressed her lips to his neck. "But I don't know if I'm allowed to keep you."

He shrugged, "I don't think I'll be missed much, Cutlass can manage on his own for a while. Unless Kaen's got a hidden agenda, I think I'm yours," he replied, returning her action.

"I don't think it'll be a problem with Her Ladyship. She left the moment we started talking. She's fulfilled her promises, hasn't she?"

"Yep."

"Fine," she closed her eyes as she snuggled against him. "Tell me everything I've missed in the past seven years."

--

Kaen finally quit eavesdropping when Ripp launched into his seven year history. No need to stick around - everything was going fine. So she headed back out and followed her path back to where Erol was. Except for Torn, everything had gone perfectly.

Erol glanced up as she came out of the house, he had his feet up on the dashboard, looking utterly at ease. "Hey. What happened to Ripp?"

"He's staying the night it looks like. She won't let him out of her sight for quite a long time. It was getting quite sappy by the time I stopped listening in."

"Nice." He made no move to move from his position, "So, am I to assume we're off again?"

"I guess, unless you have the urge to spend the night out here. The only problem is I have no idea where to go now. Valen made it sound like you can't go back to your apartment. I still think I can leave the city, but..." she shrugged, walking up so she was standing right beside him.

He lowered his feet and sat up, looking at her with his artificially colored eyes. "I'm up for bothering Torn some more, if you consider that a good option. Whether or not he'll admit it, he owes me big time."

"Sure. And Torn reminded me of something earlier," she said, going around and getting in beside him.

"What?"

"I want to buy your land."

"And if I say 'no' you blow it up, correct? How much are we talking here?"

"Money wise? You name the price. I'm not paying over a billion though."

"You're pretty desperate to get it, aren't you?" he let out a low whistle.

"I want to own this city," she sighed, "Is that too much to ask?"

"No." He paused contemplating, "Point five percent of the city... five million.

"Done. Anything else? Most people ask for more."

"Not that I can think of. I'll keep the extra option in reserve for a while, like if I need a big favor sometime."

"Alright. I can deal with that. You sure you don't want my first born child or something?"

"Well actually..." he clamped down on the thought before it could escape.

"What were you about to say?"

He laughed, "You do _not_ want to know."

"Tell me."

"Nope. I do believe comments like that are much better left unsaid."

"Please!" she mock begged. "Or do you want me to guess?"

"Guess if you want. If you come up with something worse, I'll tell you."

"Hmm..." she sat there for a moment before closing her eyes, "Oh god..."

"Okay, now I want to know.'

"Okay...don't hate me..."

"I won't."

"You...Oh god I can't say it."

"C'mon."

She colored, "You wouldn't need to take my first born because..."

He laughed, "I'm surprised you figured that one out."

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is? And weird?"

"Matter of fact I do. Why do you think I didn't actually say that?"

"You _thought_ it and that's enough!"

He shrugged, "I'm really a very warped person. I thought you'd know this by now."

"I do, but still... That was like when you looked at me at you apartment... Really weird..."

"It's hardly my fault you give me these kinds of openings."

"And it's hardly my fault you take them like that!"

Erol laughed, "That's true. But I can't help taking them like that."

"You're such a guy."

He gave her a strangely pleased grin. "I try."

"You try too hard."

He smirked, "You're probably right."

"I'm always right." For some unknown reason, she kissed his cheek, "I'm infuriating that way."

He blinked having not expected that move. "We should probably get back to bothering Torn before someone figures out we're here. What do you say?"

"The same thing we've been saying all day: let's go."


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Back again... Lord... Okay. Here goes. Arbner, Kaen, Valen and Cayden belong to us. Knives are mine. World Monitor is mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

Enjoy.

* * *

Arbner smiled to himself as he walked down the hallway towards his quarters. Erol was gone, Kaen was gone, Black Ops had been forced to release him – life was going well. And he had planned his revenge too, a surprisingly easy feat. Yes, he amazed even himself sometimes with his brilliance.

"She'll regret every action the moment she comes crawling back here, as I'm sure she will," he chuckled as he unlocked the door and let himself into his apartment. "And he'll follow as he always does. It will be nice squashing all his hopes and dreams."

Still laughing, the captain went to his office to make sure all was well. The pair had been gone for nearly twenty-four hours now. Every hour gave him more time to plan. By the time Kaen returned for revenge, he would have such a foolproof plan that even the great Valen could not stop him. No one would stop him. Not this time.

--

Erol stood in the underground base, still rather surprised that Torn had been willing to let him and Kaen stay. Maybe the traitor wasn't so bad…that or perhaps the imminent threat of Erol sending an assault team down to lead an attack on the hideout had tipped the scales in his favor.

He stayed standing in the corner, out of the way. Fewer people noticed him that way, Torn's scathing looks were bad enough; he didn't need the rest of the underground glaring at him as well. He was still fairly unrecognizable, but still there were the few rebels were adept at seeing past his disguise that would've ratted him out in an instant.

He glanced around, where had Kaen gone? He hadn't seen her since arriving at the base the previous night. For all he knew she had actually ditched him there and had taken off to one of her manors unnoticed.

--

It seemed like that day was another one of those days where the decisions were almost too complicated to deal with. Kaen had needed fresh air to clear her head, to help her think more freely. The underground was awfully claustrophobic, which was really not that great for deep thinking.

Today's topic was her mind – it was more divided then than ever before. There were six battling parts of her mind, each fighting for domination. It was like a million people yelling in her ear at once, a distinctly unpleasant sensation. Each point that her brain made seemed to have two different sides. And both were good arguments.

Parts numbers one and two were dealing with the subject of the unexpected romance. Part one was a hopeless romantic, wanting nothing less than to be with Erol for ever and ever. Part two was the cynic, pointing out that she was unlovable and desire was society's greatest downfall.

On the subject of Arbner, parts numbers three and four were coming to the same conclusion in different ways. Part three wanted a gruesome and drawn out death to be the fate of the captain, but part four would hear nothing of it. No, it thought that death was too harsh and that she wasn't going to become a monster like him.

The last topic she was warring over was her duty to the city. Her way of getting to Arbner was dangerous and could easily cause her demise, which was highly unhelpful when trying to control a large population of people. Part five, who was just and loyal, thought that the city was more important than revenge and that her duty was top priority. Part six thought that revenge was a lovely idea, even if it did mean that she would lose control of Haven. Both of those parts agreed Erol would be an unknown in the equation.

"Dammit," she groaned, closing her eyes as she leaned against a wall. "I just can't win here. What I wouldn't give to be clairvoyant right now."

The sun was thankfully hidden behind the clouds, so as Kaen made her way back to the underground she didn't have to worry about the bright, hot light. It was the only good thing though – her mind was still a whirlpool of confusion. What to do? But even as she walked, she began to understand what it would take for all the components to fall into place.

By the time she was through the door and back in the direction that she'd last seen Erol, she had come to decision, but it wasn't a pleasant one. In the end, parts one, four and six. But how to link them together?

Erol glanced up as Kaen entered. She looked troubled, something was on her mind, he could tell. He felt torn between trying to uncover what it was and just leaving her be. He paused, weighing out his options. The former seemed much more appealing to him, but if it turned out that she wasn't willing to talk, he would leave it.

He stepped out of his corner and walked over to meet her halfway, not missing the strangely amused smirk Torn shot him. As if that deserter would understand anything about him and Kaen.

"Hey," Erol said, gently placing a hand on Kaen's shoulder, "What's up with you?"

She sighed and shook her head, "I'm torn. My mind just can't decide what it wants – or maybe it can. Maybe it's a battle between want and need. I just can't decide. So I went out for some fresh air, but the space didn't really help. At least I know what has to happen now."

"Well... at least you got somewhere with it..." He'd been trying to figure out how in the world he'd managed to land himself in this situation and had yet to reach a conclusion that made any kind of sense.

"And unfortunately, this whole thing will most likely end in my untimely demise. Oh well – Arbner will be going down with me I suppose. It's a sort of consolation prize."

"Don't say that." He pulled his hand away, "I mean, you can say that sort of thing about Arbner, but not for you. I can't see it happening. Personally, out of the two of us, I think I'm worse off."

"Maybe right now, but…" she ran the plan through her mind once more, "But not by the end of this. I am quite confident you'll come out on top.

Erol shrugged, thoroughly unconvinced.

The remaining rebel in the underground finished getting his assignment from Torn and promptly left.

The head of the resistance spun around to face the two. "Alright, listen up because I'm only saying this once. I'm doing both of you a huge favour by letting you stay here. I could pay off that _lovely_ debt you slapped on me just by turning in one of you, dead. Praxis wants you _alive_, no doubt so he can have the satisfaction of killing you himself." Torn paused, "I hate both of you, but turning you in returns power to Praxis and that's not something I'm willing to do."

"Very compassionate. I wouldn't try to kill me though – I'm doing it myself." Kaen sighed.

"Fine, save me the trouble," Torn snarled.

Erol glared hatefully at him, "Watch it you traitor."

"And you used to be best friends?!"

"Shocking, isn't it?" both of them replied at the same time.

She giggled, "You guys amaze me."

Torn let out a growl of irritation and Erol smirked.

"I know! Don't they?" a familiar voice commented from nearby the door.

"Valen?!"

"The one and only," the psychologist entered the main room, "I can't believe we were once best friends."

"Is that directed at me or him?" Erol asked, jerking his thumb at Torn, "Or just both of us in general?"

"Both of you. Sometimes I think that I'm the only one who matured."

Erol stuck his tongue out.

Torn rolled his eyes, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you've become wanted too."

"No. I missed my best friend – meaning her Ladyship of course." He walked over and gave said Ladyship a hug.

She grinned, "Sometimes you amaze me. Actually, you astound me."

"Thanks," he replied, "I'm glad I could astound."

Erol felt a slight flare of annoyance. What right did Valen have to-? He killed the thought. What had gotten into him?  
Torn gave the redhead a superior smirk.

Valen smiled at the commander, "Alright Erol, spit it out."

"What?" he blinked at Valen, obviously confused.

"You were irritated by what I said. And I'm sorry – I'm not into your girlfriend."

Erol fixed Valen with a flat glare.

Torn laughed, "You're going awfully slow with this aren't you. It's only taken, what, two years to get to this stage?"

"Shove it," the commander snapped.

"At least we're getting to know each other first, unlike you and Ashelin."

Torn looked like he could've hit something. Which he did, namely Erol.

The redhead rubbed his shoulder, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

Valen sighed, "You guys are so cute. Why do you have to have girlfriends? You could make the cutest couple!"

Erol was on the other side of the room in and instant, getting as far away from Torn as possible.

Torn shrugged it off, "I prefer women."

"Obviously Erol has a dirty little secret," Kaen said, trying to keep a straight face. Needless to say, she was failing.

"I do _not_! Forgive me for being completely freaked out by the concept of Valen pairing me off with him." He pointed an accusing finger ad the rogue leader.

"What? Even as a kid I thought you two would do well together."

Torn arched a would-be eyebrow at Valen, "_This_, coming from you? You were under the impression that _you'd_ do well with him."

Valen rolled his eyes, "Only until he hooked up with my other best friend. It's hard to have a crush on someone who's constantly liplocked with someone else."

"Quit discussing my personal life!"

"What? All of Haven had seen the videos. But I'll let it go, until I can make you feel awkward again."

The commander sighed and walked back over to them.

Torn smirked again and turned to his desk to pull something that appeared to be a magazine off it. "Thanks to Val, the whole city's been kept posted on you two."

"What the hell is that?" Kaen snapped, reaching for it.

Valen smiled, "The World Monitor."

Torn calmly passed it over to the woman without a fight, "It's amusing," his smirk continued, "See for yourself."

She whipped it open, reading the names of the pages aloud. "'Past Meets Present?' 'Dessert of the Week?' 'Uncle Cayden's advice?'!"

"It's the first issue – the next one's longer."

"It is." Torn muttered, shuffling around more papers before handing a second magazine to Erol.

Erol turned it over in his hands, staring at it sceptically, "What the hell…?"

"How many of these have you published?" Kaen cried, "And what's in that second one?!"

"Um…" Erol flipped through it slowly, "Let's see, 'Can Love Save a City?' 'Horoscopes with Madame Hurst,' a few pages of ads, 'Crime on the Rise?' 'Dessert of the Week,' and 'Uncle Cayden's advice.' For the love of God Valen!" Erol stared at him, "Get a hobby!"

"I have one: writing the Monitor. You two have been regularly supplying quotes. You should read 'Can Love Save a City,' it involves the pair of you. So does 'Crime on the Rise,' but that's more abstract."

"Who reads this crap?!"

"Everyone. I make nearly as much as Cayden, not counting my own paycheque. If you look at it, I've got some nice pictures of the two of you in the second one. Don't you agree Torn?"

The other man shrugged, "Sure."

"What I want to know is how you got the pictures, especially this first one," she pointed to it.

"Magic powers my dear."

"How _did_ you get that?" Erol asked, glancing at the picture Kaen was pointing to.

Valen shrugged, "Blackmail and a special camera. I got several comments from male readers…"

"Oh god…Val, just stop there. I don't want to know."

"Yeah, I'm okay not knowing the comments you got," she shuddered and automatically inched closer to Erol.

Without being fully aware of what he was doing, Erol slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Torn snorted and rolled his eyes.

Kaen rested her head on Erol's shoulder, "Why do you act so weird whenever we're around each other Torn?"

"I'm not acting weird."

"Like it's dirty or…" something struck her, "Is this some weird thing like him being able to do a whole lot better?"

"Hell no."

Erol smirked, "You're just jealous that you can't get yourself a girlfriend without _my_ help. Too bad for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to try to foist me on him?" she shuddered again.

He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "No, don't worry about that. I meant his _current_ girlfriend."

"Shut up Erol," Torn growled.

"Okay, this I've _got_ to hear."

"No." Erol said very flatly, "You'll be scarred for life."

"I'm not already? C'mon, I can find out from you or that splendid little tabloid."

"Think of some the things I did yesterday; then put that in a context where I'm at my most perverted." He looked at her, "Do you _still_ want to know?"

"Yes."

He sighed, "Fine." He sighed again, "Torn was eyeing Ashelin but was too nervous to go talk to her. I walked over, said something creepy and perverted to her. She nearly slugs me. Torn comes over to 'bail me out.' He apologizes for my behaviour. They get talking and hit it off. End of story."

"You still haven't told me what you said."  
"Do I have to?"

"Do you want me to keep talking to you?"

He groaned, "Dammit Kaen…"

"I won't hate you or anything. Just spit it out."

"Oh god…" He sighed yet again, "Hey, I don't think I've seen you before. What patrol group are you with? I'd _love_ to get up your alley."

Kaen had to work extremely hard not to laugh, "That's an _interesting_ pick up lime." Her resolve broke and she burst out laughing.

He waited for her to regain her composure, "It was designed to get me in trouble. I wasn't actually trying anything."

"But still!" she stopped laughing and said in all seriousness, "You ever try that with me; I'll kill you."

Erol gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, "Believe me, I know."

Valen snickered, "No, instead he asks to father your children."

Erol opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. How had Valen known about _that_?

"You said it really loud by a manor camera. There was no doubt about it. My question is why you'd go that far before even taking her out to dinner."

"Drop it Val. It was a slip up, alright? Just drop it."

"This is one of those times where I am really glad I cannot see inside your head," Kaen sighed, pressing her lips to his neck, "They're getting more and more frequent."

"Just twice," he murmured, rubbing his nose against her neck.

"That you've externally showed it."

He shrugged. What Kaen didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Valen smiled evilly at the pair. Such amazing quotes…

Torn rolled his eyes at all three of them. _He_ actually had work to do.

It was then Kaen decided it was time to go. If she didn't do it now, she would never be able to go. "I've got to go. I'll be back soon." She kissed Erol gently, and headed out the door. It was often said that each member of her family had to sacrifice something to show they were willing to get their hands dirty. She was going to sacrifice herself.

The trip to the palace took two hours, but she arrived before nightfall. No one asked any questions as she made her way up to the throne room, head held high. But even as she entered, her heart felt like it was about to burst.

Praxis was on his feet faster than anyone would've expected a man his size to move. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded. Security was already on its way.

Taking a deep breath to still herself, Kaen dropped both her knives and gun to the ground. "I'm turning myself in, on a few conditions."

One hand went to his sword, "I'm listening."

"First, you wait a week until you kill me. Two, you stop messing around in Black Ops. Three, you clear all charges against Commander Erol and allow him to return to his job, no strings attached."

The baron paused, contemplating her request. "Fine," the word left his mouth as the door to the throne room burst open as a three man squad, led by Arbner, entered.

"Who do we have here, but the little slut?" Arbner's heart leapt with joy. "Turned your snivelling self in, have you?"

"Yes." She held out her wrists. "Just get on with it."

And so he did, dragging her out of the room. In all her life, she had never been more scared.

--

From the Black Ops headquarters, Cayden watched the turn of events, feeling a part of him die with each of the steps. "I've got to tell Valen," he said, picking up the phone, "He needs to hear about this."

--

"She's been gone for an awfully long time," Valen commented, looking at his watch.

Erol wiped an arm back across his forehead, wiping off some of the cover-up. "I know."

"I…" his phone rang. "Hey…Cayden? Wha-" a pause, "No," he moaned, the phone slipping from his hand and smashing on the ground. He was shaking violently, breathing short and strained.

"Valen what happened?"

"She turned herself in to Praxis…Her execution's in a week…"

Color fled Erol's face, "Shit."

"And – and – and," Valen's voice became accusing, "And Erol? Know what? She did it for you."

--

Arbner pointed to a cell. "Throw her in there." He watched his men throw her into the tiny room, feeling satisfaction tingling in every atom. When she was inside, they moved out of the way as their captain approached. "Leave us," he commanded, so they did. Power was a beautiful thing.

Kaen pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Hello Arbner."

"Hello love. How are you?"

"Been better. And you?"

He smiled, "Amazing, now that you're here. Under my command." He knelt down to her level. "Sometimes I don't understand you, you little doll."

"Nor you. I don't understand the brute force instead of reasoning."

"Because I get better results. Observe. I can draw my gun and enter your cell and you won't hurt me."

"I wouldn't count on it." And now came the hardest part – Kaen pulled out of her mind and let It fill the space.

--

Erol gaped at Valen, "Is she _insane_?! Why would she go back?!"

The other man's tone was uncharacteristically spiteful, "Because of you, I'd imagine. Because you lost everything because of her. Not that you'd do the same…" he turned away in disgust. Miss Kaen was locked away and it was all Erol's fault.

Erol stared at him. _How _could Valen suggest that he wouldn't do the same for her? "Val..."

"I don't even want to talk about it." She was gone, gone, gone. She would die in that cell, losing her mind to a monster that they had tried so hard to repress. "At least not to you."

That stung. Erol paused trying to decide what to. He had to do something about her, he had to. Spinning around he took off, bolting of the underground. He wasn't about to let this happen, there had to be some way to save her.

--

"He's left," Cayden reported, watching the monitors carefully. "He'll be here in around two hours. And I will be waiting. Oh, I will be waiting." He turned his attention back to the screens, watching the newest developments. They were torturing her - and they would pay for every moment of it.

--

Erol arrived back at the palace panting and out of breath. He leaned against a wall for a moment, feeling sweat trickle down the back of his neck.

"Hello Erol," Cayden said quietly, reaching out from behind the wall and dragging him into the shadows. If he was getting revenge, might as well start now. "How are you?"

"Uh, been better, you?"

"In a horrible mood. Do you know why?" He began to pull him to a nearby Black Ops door.

"Cause Kaen turned herself in." he replied quietly.

"Because of you. Did you laugh when you found out? After all, you got your life back with no strings attached. Can go back to dating that girl at the stadium. And we can watch Miss Kaen go mad and die."

Erol looked away from Cayden, there was no way he could face him. "There's nothing even slightly amusing about this."

"Really? Do you know how much you benefited from this?" They were going up the stairs now. "Do you have the slightest idea what she gave to you?"

"Everything..."

"Exactly. Dammit, her bloody estate goes to you! But she might have made the baron promise to let you off scott free, but I won't." They had reached his office. Several passing agents were glaring hatefully at the commander while they past, giving the pair a wide berth.

"You couldn't deal out a punishment harsh enough..." Erol muttered under his breath. Whatever Cayden was going to do, he'd accept, it was no more than he deserved.

Cayden pulled him inside and forced him down on the seat facing his computer. "I think this will suffice."

Erol looked from the vacant screen to Cayden and back, fearing what was going to happen.

"You are not allowed to move your head, close your eyes or even twitch a muscle. Understood?"

Erol nodded solemnly.

"Here we go then," Cayden clicked on the monitor and played the live feed from the detention center.

Erol felt as though everything around him had just been turned upside down. He struggled to keep his breath even and it took all of his willpower not to look away. Hardly daring to blink he watched, as for the first time he saw the side of Kaen he'd never met.

She was strapped into her own machinery, laughing coldly. "Why Arbner, can't you do any better?" A pair of pure black eyes glowed as they turned to look at him. "I want more reason to tear out your throat and eat your flesh."

The captain shuddered, "No need for that my dear. Shall we give you one more dose?"

"Why not?" she shrugged, "It's not like Kaen can't feel it or anything." Her hysterical laughter began again.

He began to shake uncontrollably, but still he refused to look away.

The laughter stopped abruptly and gave way to screams of pain as dark eco rocketed through her body. Now it was Arbner's turn to laugh, hard and long as if it was a hilarious old joke. "Not so powerful are you, you little freak? Only been captive for three hours and have killed two of my best men." He stroked her hair as she writhed in anguish, "Poor little monster."

"You bastard," Erol hissed, feeling utter hatred for the man fill him like never before.

"And all for Erol. I wonder if he even knows or cares. I doubt it," Arbner said, grabbing her hair and slamming her head back, resulting in a loud crack. She didn't answer, still regaining her strength.

Erol's hand clenched, "I'll kill him." No longer shaking from the shock, his whole body shuddered with repressed rage.

"So you do regret it?" Cayden muttered. "Damn right that you do. Look at her - she doesn't even know who you are anymore. She's so lost inside her mind she's forgotten the man she loves the most."

"He's _not_ going to get away with this." Erol snarled, "I'm not going to let him." Had he been thinking clearly, even he would have been scared by the venom in his voice, but as it was...he felt nothing but his anger.

"Yes he is, until Miss Kaen kills him. At the end of the week," the big man paused, "Oh, she's talking again. Shall we listen in?"

Cayden's words rolled off of him like oil on water, but he'd already come to the conclusion that Kaen was speaking again and her voice had his full attention.

"Who is this Erol person you keep talking about? Who is he? Is he why Kaen threw herself into this mess?" she licked her lips, "I wonder what _his_ blood tastes like."

He should have been scared, repulsed, hurt, anything. A tremor ran up his spine and he glared at the image of Arbner on the screen. This was _his_ fault.

And then something very unexpected happened. Kaen's new voice, cold and emotionless, gave way to a much more familiar one. "I think you're enjoying this way too much Arbner."

Cayden looked at her in shock, "What in the…"

Her voice cracked through his hateful shell, "Kaen..."

Arbner looked just as stunned. "I thought you had cracked already…"

She licked her parched lips, "Not quite yet. I made a deal with my other half - we get equal time. And she opened the door right up when you mentioned," She paused and took a deep breath, "Erol again."

Suddenly he was struggling to keep watching again. His anger was leaving him and it was taking all of his resolve not to just bolt from Cayden's office to head to the detention center. He bit down on his bottom lip, hard.

"He abandoned you! He never cared about you! It would serve you well to just forget about him!" Arbner snarled, spit flying from his mouth.

She just closed her eyes, "You might be right Arbner - I have no way of knowing if he does care or if he was using me." She laughed quietly, "I wonder that every time he kisses me. But at least my conscience is clear." She twitched and fell limp.

Erol was on his feet before he'd even thought of moving, "Kaen!"

Cayden shot him a disgusted look, "Nothing can save her now. I told you she had gone mad. Now you know why we tried so hard to protect her, why I tried so hard to be a father figure to her and try to make her feel cared for. Now you know why she cries at night sometimes from the horrible images that part of her threads into her mind." Cayden turned off the monitor and fell into the recently vacated chair. "Get out."

Erol was more than happy to listen. On his way out the door he turned and said, "I _will_ save her. Mark my words Cayden, I will, or I'll die trying."


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Back for more. Arbner, Kaen, Valen, Jance, and any OCs not mentioned here but who actually appear in this chapter are ours. Knives are mine. Everything else is Naughty Dog's.

Enjoy.

* * *

Jance glanced up momentarily as he heard the cell next to his be opened and someone be thrown none too gently inside. He lowered his head again, just thankful that it hadn't been his door. He hugged his knees tighter to his chest and repressed a shudder. Everywhere ached.

Kaen swore loudly as she crashed to the floor inside her cell. "I'll kill that man if it's the last thing I do." She stopped, then sighed, "It will be the last thing I do. Who am I kidding?"

He glanced up again, "Kay...en?" he asked quietly, struggling through the two simple syllables. "That...you?"

She whipped around at the sound, "Jance?" she whispered.

"Yeah..." he whimpered as he shifted around slightly, "Why...you...here?" His speech was agonizingly slow, it hurt to talk.

"I turned myself in. It was the only way I could reach Arbner without detection. And why are you talking like that? What's been going on?"

He put his head in his hands and let out a howl of agony. He looked at her again and managed to choke out, "Pain."

Checking there was no one in sight, Kaen reached through the bars of her own cell and partially into his. "Oh god… What have I done?"

He gave a start at the movement and for a moment tried to curl even further into the far corner of his cell before he regained his senses and actually moved towards her. He cringed as he moved out into the better lit part of his cell and reached out to grab her hand.

"Ah, ah, ah. No talking to the other prisoners your Ladyship," one of Arbner's many guards snapped, shoving her hand back into its proper cell. Satisfied, he turned to Jance and smiled, "And as for you…"

"NO!" he screeched, "NO!"

"No what? You afraid or something?"

"Get the fuck away from me!"

The guard just laughed, "Now you're just asking for trouble." Still laughing, he punched in the code for Jance's cell. "Do you want to repeat that?"

Jance shook his head wildly.

The man stepped into the cell, pulling out one of Kaen's own knives. "Too late then, I suppose."

His eyes fell on the blade and he cried out in pure terror, "NO!"

"Still got a bit of kick left in you? I thought we'd have beaten it out of you by now." His laughter grew louder as he approached the other man, "Hello Jance."

"Get away from me." Jance snarled, "_NOW_!"

"No." The man pushed him onto the ground with a sneer. "Why should I listen to you?"

His eyes darted wildly around as he struggled against the man, to no avail.

"Too late."

Kaen sat in the cell beside them, trying to reign in her stomach. The past twenty minutes had been a nightmarish blur, but each moment had been etched into her memory. Curled in the back of her cell, she whispered, "What have I done Jance? Why didn't I just let you go free? Why… How could I…"

He couldn't have answered even if he'd wanted to. He was curled up in his corner again, sobbing into his knees. Not matter how often it happened, he never stopped feeling so invaded and violated. It was awful. He had become worthless, nothing more than a vessel through which Arbner's men earned their pleasure. He wanted to die.

Another guard approached Kaen's cell this time. "Don't worry about him - he's nothing more than an animal. Now, should I bring you sup-" he was cut off by Kaen ripping out his throat. The speed of her movement was exceptional and there would have been no way to stop her.

"For some reason, I'm not in the mood to eat."

The sound of the guard's death seemed to shake Jance momentarily from his tormented mental state. He glanced over and felt himself grow queasy from the sight. He retched, bringing up nothing in a dry heave.

Kaen felt It shiver with pleasure. "I might not be in the mood to eat, but It certainly is," she smiled and withdrew once more to the back of her mind.

--

Valen had returned to his apartment by then and was sitting on his bed, lights on, nearly sobbing. Beside him sat the child, once a tormentor, now a comforter.

'It'll be alright Valen. Nothing you could do could stop her. Shhh, don't cry. I'll help protect you," he wrapped his tiny arms around his creator.

Usually the psychologist would have been bolting from the room by then, but he couldn't do it. His heart ached with the pain of anger and love. She was like a sister or a friend or a daughter or something to him. Maybe a cousin. Who knew? Soon she'd cease to be any.

"I've failed her. I've failed Haven City."

The child stroked his hand, 'Go call Erol. Maybe the pair of you can sort out this mess. But sleep first – you need to rest.'

He didn't need another invitation, even if it was from a hallucination. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, haunted by images from the videos that had been sent to him.

--

Erol sat in his quarters, staring out at nothing. How had this happened? Why? She was never supposed to do something like this, never.

He put his head in his hands and moaned. Praxis had just spoken to him. After a severe tongue lashing, Erol had learned two things. One, Jak had escaped sometime during the mayhem of Arbner's apprehension. And two, he was still in control of the Dark Warrior program. Without Jak there was only one possible test subject...Kaen.

He got up and walked briskly over to the wall. He slammed his head against it with a loud cry of "Dammit!" He backed away, rubbing his forehead, "Not smart," he muttered.

He sighed and sat down on the floor, resting his back against the wall. He wanted to go to sleep, but knew he'd never be able to. "And so, my insomnia returns..." His mind was working a mile a minute, trying to come up with the best solution out of this mess. There weren't many to choose from.

--

There wasn't much time to think for any of them because, despite the terrors and the hardships, the next five days passed at a mind-boggling rate. Soon enough it was the last day of Kaen's life.

Erol stood in the detention center, a broken man, waiting for Arbner to retrieve Kaen from her cell. It killed part of him every time they went through this.

Arbner dragged the girl out of her cell for the last time. He'd broken her at last. "Come on, stand up!" he barked, pulling her semi-up and forcing her to make her way to the machine.

Kaen tried to talk through numb lips. The feeling was so familiar, like breathing. Tonight she would take her final revenge and die. The pain would be over. She didn't even bother resisting as she was more or less thrown down.

"Look at her Commander. Isn't she the most pathetic thing you've ever seen?"

Erol looked over at Arbner, "No. I do believe the most pathetic thing I've seen is standing right in front of me."

"Still bitter? I thought we'd gotten past this." Arbner turned towards her once more, "You used to be so very beautiful."

"And she still is..." Erol muttered to himself angrily. As if it wasn't bad enough that he actually had to torture Kaen, he was being forced to work with _Arbner_. Of all people...He sighed, it would all be over soon, one way or the other.

"Just get on with it," Kaen managed to hiss out, trying to ignore the pain of each word. "At this rate I'll die before you have the chance to shoot me."

The captain smiled at her, "I'm sure the commander is looking forward to it."

"Shut up and get over here, unless you want to get fried." Erol snapped, "I won't warn you twice."

"Fine," he moved out of the way. "Did you hear about the dose increase?"

"What dose increase?"

"Up until now it's just been high, but now the baron wants us to set it to," an insane grin lit his features, "maximum."

Erol felt like he was going to be sick. "Tell Praxis we're not going that high."

"He made me specify that your life was on the line."

"Hmm, fancy that..." Erol muttered, fiddling with the dial but not actually being productive.

Kaen found the strength to talk again. "Just do it Erol. It's not going to kill me. I've been much worse off."

He sighed and properly adjusted the dial. "Here goes..."

Arbner moved out of the way, then, with a slight pause, turned and left the room. He'd be back later.

With a second more hesitation Erol pressed the button. He cringed and clapped his hands over his ears before he could hear her scream.

And scream she did, but not only from the pain. Just like every time before, the treatments brought flashbacks as part of the deal. Her screams grew louder, filling the room as she relived that fateful Christmas where her family met their end.

He wanted to stop it so badly, but he couldn't. Once the cycle had been started there was no way to stop it. He squeezed his eyes shut, begging for it to be over, he couldn't bear doing this, it took too much away from him.

She felt herself wavering between reality and this dream world of hers. "Why? WHY?" she screamed, muscles seizing up.

It felt like an eternity, but finally the cycle drew to a close, slowly Erol lowered his hands and opened his eyes, fearing to see what had happened.

Every inch of her lay perfectly still as she pulled out of her memories. She looked dead, lifeless.

With a shaking hand Erol released the restraints and walked over to her, "Kaen..."

She could feel the blood leaking out her mouth, long crimson stains. Her breathing was still extremely restricted, but she reminded herself the air was still coming in anyway.

He placed one hand gently on her arm, "Kaen," with his other hand he began to wipe some of the blood away from her mouth.

In her mind, Erol's voice was mutating, becoming similar to Faine's. "NO!" she shrieked, jerking away.

"Kaen!" he hadn't been prepared for that reaction.

"No," she searched the room for him, but only saw Erol. Her breathing was now too fast, but it was helping clear her head. "I-I-I…"

"Relax. It's okay..." Something of a lie, but it was better than saying, 'Relax. You're screwed.'

"Where is he? Or am I," she hated to say it, but it was true, "I'm going insane, aren't I?"

"Who?" Erol mentally kicked herself, that wouldn't make her think she was even losing it...

She stared at him, fear coursing through every vein, "Faine. I heard him… He…" A completely irrational tear rolled down her cheek. "He hurt me. You hurt me."

Erol reached out to gently wipe the tear away, "I'm so sorry. I didn't have much choice..."

"It doesn't hurt while I'm being tortured as much as it hurts after it's finished."

"I'm still sorry..."

She smiled, "I have been turned into more or less an animal. You don't apologize to my kind, no more than you apologize to a fish or a cat. Anyway, what does it matter? I'm going to die in twenty three hours."

"It matters because I love you." The words were out of his mouth before he had a clue they were even there. Why did he have to say that now?

Everything around her seemed to stop. "What?" she had to have misheard.

He said it once, he could say it again, "I love you Kaen."

It almost hurt to hear. Sure, it had been obvious enough, but his voicing it aloud had made it altogether too real. "You… Me?"

He nodded.

"I," she started, but her throat seized up, "I l-" Her father's words rang over and over in her head. Why couldn't she just say it?

He felt a smile tug at his lips, so _this_ was what it was like to be on the receiving end when the other person couldn't say it.

"You're mocking my inability to say I love you."

"You just did."

"Point." She looked at the ground, strengthening her resolve before she could speak. After an extremely long pause, Kaen managed to look up and stare him straight in the eyes, "I love you too."

He had no clue how to reply, no clue at all. He sighed, "I hate to do this, I really do, but you need to go back to your cell…"  
"Or not…If she's up and talking, obviously it was not enough." Arbner had returned, smiling wider than ever before, "Let's go Commander – we need to continue until she stops breathing. It shouldn't take much more."

"More orders from Praxis? Or is this just your sick idea?" Erol reached for his gun but found the holster empty.

He chuckled, "No gun for you – much too dangerous. And they're his _and_ mine. So," he walked over and pushed it past maximum, "Restrain her again. Let's finish this."

"No."

"Yes. You're going to have to kill her anyway."

"Explain to me again _why_ Praxis is not the one telling me this." Erol snarled, attempting to cover up the horror he felt at Arbner's words.

"Because he has more important things to do. I think he will witness the execution however. You'll have the honor of blowing several holes in her twenty-two hours from now. In the mean time, I suggest you do what you're told."

"Are you _threatening_ me?!" Erol snarled, grabbing the other man roughly by the front of the shirt.

"Yes," his eyes glittered maliciously, "Now do it!"

Erol flung Arbner away from him, sending the other man roughly to the floor, "Fine," he hissed, reactivating the restraints.

Kaen closed her eyes and held her breath. They wanted her to die? Well, they could see what a mistake it would be.

He winced as he slammed down the button.

The shrieking began anew, her body convulsing with the energy. But Kaen was too busy slowing her heart to truly notice. While the outside her began to die, screaming in pain, she was planning her death.

He glared at Arbner, as full of hatred as he had been the first time he'd witnessed the man's torturing of Kaen. He was never going to let that creep win.

The process stopped and Kaen went limp. Arbner laughed and went over to take her pulse. Nothing. "Oh my god…" he hissed, looking elsewhere for the beating of her heart."

"Satisfied?!" Erol snapped at him. Even the machine could barely pick up her vital signs, but he knew, she was still alive, barely.

"She's killing herself," the other man said in awe, "She's stopping her heart."

There had to be something else to it other than dying through force of will. Erol grabbed Arbner's hand and pulled it away from her, "Leave her alone," his voice was dangerously low.

The captain looked offended, "It doesn't matter much anyway." He turned to leave once more starting the machine as he passed by, "Enjoy the show."

It would kill her. If only he'd had his gun, he would've shot Arbner down where he stood. But as it was… Erol could only stand by helplessly and watch as she was tortured for the third time that day.

Kaen felt the third treatment course through her body and made a split second decision. They wouldn't continue if she was 'dead.' She had learned the trick back when she was a child, killing herself for five minutes tops. So as the machine slowed, Kaen stopped her heart completely and died. This was a dangerous game.

He snapped the restraints off her, begging that he was wrong. She couldn't be dead. She couldn't. Erol's vision blurred and he fought back tears as he looked at her.

She began to time it. One second too long and she _would _be dead. But, despite what she wanted, she couldn't yet die. Arbner had to go first; then it would end. The pain would finally end.

What was he supposed to do? He felt like he had to know for himself, he couldn't trust the machine. Pulling off his gloves he pressed his fingers to her neck, hoping against all odds to feel a pulse.

Nothing. There would be nothing. There _was_ nothing. Kaen begged to be taken back to her cell. She only had three minutes left.

If she was dead, there was no point in returning her to her cell, but he couldn't think of what else to do. If only he knew what to do.

'Take me back dammit!' she thought as hard as she could. Doing thing without living was very difficult.

He couldn't keep the tears back anymore. They leaked from his eyes as he brushed his hand down her cheek, "Kaen…"

Two minutes. Why was Arbner taking so long?

Erol ran his fingers through her hair, unwilling to admit that she was gone.

One minute. Her mind could already feel the pull of death.

He murmured her name again, more tears sliding down his cheeks. He'd failed. He hadn't saved her. She was gone.

The last minute was over. Back in her cell or not, she would soon die. So, with no hesitation, she brought herself back, turning her head to the side to cough up the blood. Her breathing was heavy and every inch of her hurt as life returned. Someone was beside her, but it didn't feel like Arbner. She would have thought about it in greater detail if she wasn't coughing up a pint of blood.

"Kaen!" Erol cried, pulling his hand away as the blood hit his leg. He'd been so sure that he'd lost her…

Finally her heartbeat leveled out as well as her breathing. She hadn't even heard Erol, muttering to herself instead. "Why do I _always_ think that it's worth it? Dying is altogether unpleasant."

He shook his head wildly, this couldn't be happening, it was just too…His thought were a jumbled mess as he stared at her, "Kaen."

She coughed up more blood, "It's a shame I couldn't have just died. I'm really done with this."

He felt more blood hit his leg but he didn't care. He reached out again and ran his hand down her cheek once more. There was no way this could be true.

Now she had regained enough senses to function normally, "Why," she sighed, talking loud enough to hear, "Do I continue to kill myself? I mean, it's handy and all, but it's very odd not to feel your heartbeat."

"You did that to yourself?!"

She _still_ hadn't placed him. "Sure. If I 'die,' Erol wouldn't have to kill me and I could kill Arbner. Of course, I wouldn't have survived the third treatment anyway."

"I still don't plan on killing you." He said; it didn't matter that she seemed not to know him. He couldn't blame her. Who could? She'd just practically killed herself.

"I'm sorry; I think I'm hearing everything throw a pillow – a common side effect. Who's sitting with me? I can barely see as well. Dammit."

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace, "Erol."

"Really? I would have suspected the hair to be a tip off, even if everything is a blur."

"Yes really," he kissed her forehead, "Don't you dare scare me like that again."

"I'll try. And I have a question…"

"What?"

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I thought I'd lost you."

"Oh," she fell silent, using him for a support. "But you didn't lose me."

"No," he said quietly, "I didn't."

"Not yet anyway. And don't worry – dying doesn't hurt at all. It's like waking up from a long sleep."

"I'll remember that," he sighted, "I guess this means that you go back to your cell…"

"And wait for _him_," her voice grew cold, "Though I fear what might happen before he does, it will all balance out in the end."

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind. What will probably take place tonight is the last thing you need to hear."

Erol didn't look convinced, but let it slide, "Can you get there under your own power? Or do you need my help?" he asked, pretty sure he knew the answer already.

"Help, if you please, unless you're too weak to carry me or support me of whatever."

"Hardly," he said, hoisting her up into his arms. "Will this work for you?"

She nodded, "Whatever. It'll work fine." Actually it was just perfect.

She was lighter than he'd expected, he couldn't help noticing as he took her back to the cell.

As she passed by Jance, Kaen quickly typed the code into his keypad, unlocking the door. A possible wild card. "Thanks for bringing me back."

Erol set her down gently, "No problem."

"See you later," she gave him a small, sad smile, "Whenever in the future that is."

"I'll try to keep it soon," and with that he was gone, cell door closing behind him.

"Well that's morbid," she muttered to herself, retreating to the corner to save her strength. Tonight would take it all. She saw a small glass of water nearby, which she took and drank. It was nearly time.

--

Hours upon hours passed, until Kaen had two hours left to live. Arbner had returned now, and was waiting by her cell, talking to her. She had tuned him out, until her cell door swung open. Then he had her full attention.

"Listening now are you? I thought you were dead – it really wouldn't have mattered." He drew closer to her. Kaen tried to struggle away, but found herself unable to move. "Don't bother trying to move or turning into a monster, it won't work. I put a special concoction in that water you've been drinking." He smiled, "You can't even speak."

So he _had_ thought it out. Well, that threw a wrench into her plans. She continued to struggle, not quite ready to give up. Maybe – a slim maybe – Jance would help her out.

"No one can help you now. Erol's probably at the stadium with his little girlfriend – they've been more and more frequently seen together. Valen and Cayden are banned from here and Jance is too weak to save you." He knelt beside her and brushed a hand down her cheek, "I take back what I said before, about you not being gorgeous. I must have been possessed."

Kaen felt her stomach twist. He was right when he said no one could save her, the Erol news was hurting more than anything else. But she couldn't think about that now, not when she had to figure out how to kill Arbner while paralyzed.

"I'm not going to hurt you…_badly_."

There was the slight creak of the hinges on the cell next to Kaen's as Jance slipped out of it. He growled as he stood in the doorway, glaring daggers at Arbner.

Arbner whipped around. "So you do have enough energy to come save your friend, do you Jance? I guess my men should visit more often."

"Leave her." Jance hissed.

"Why should I? She's cause me an awful lot of trouble."

"Leave her." He repeated.

The captain sighed, got up and walked over to Jance. "No. Now, let's just return you to your cell. After the execution, I'll send someone to see you. How about that?" He grabbed the front of Jance's shirt.

Jance twisted away from him and slammed his elbow into Arbner's gut.

Arbner stumbled back, then, with a growl, drew his gun and shot Jance twice. "Let's go," he snarled, grabbing the other man's arm and dragging him out of Kaen's and back into his correct cell. "Pathetic," he laughed, tossing him so hard against the wall; you could hear the skull crack.

Kaen struggled to speak, to yell, to make any sort of noise. Jance had come to help her and all she had done was get him wounded. But she still had another chance, slim as it may be. Even as the captain reentered, her mind was already in motion. It was her last hope.

"Now we can be alone," Arbner sighed as he came and sat beside her. "Time for some payback, you darling little slut. Now for some payback."

--

Erol walked through the palace hallways; he hadn't stopped thinking about what had happened in the detention center, it had been too close. He had to get her out before he was supposed to kill her. He only had a couple hours left to figure it out.

He paused, leaning against a wall and rubbed his temples. No wonder Torn had gotten headaches from planning when he was the commander.

"Do you think Arbner's already with her?" a random guard asked his fellow. "He was pretty impatient."

The commander spun to face the speakers, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah," said the other, "I mean rape is sort of tasteless, but whatever trips your trigger."

Erol grabbed the second speaker, "_What_ are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Commander! Oh. I…um…Haven't you heard? Arbner's been bragging about it all week. Alive or dead, she was his tonight. Dunno why he was so obsessed, something about 'beating him to it' or something."

"God dammit!" Erol spun around and took off at a sprint, this was _not_ good…


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter 20... Gotta love it. More angst. Anyway, I'm blathering on... Leeta, Ripp, Arbner, Kaen, Valen and anyone else I forgot to mention belong to us. Knives belong to me. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Hello?" Leeta said, answering the door, "How can I help you?"

"Ripp. _Now_." Erol said, not bothering with any kind of manners. He needed to be fast.

She glared, "Why should we help _you_?"

"Because if you don't, Kaen dies."

"What!" she gasped, "How…how…how could you?!"

Erol blinked, unable to figure out what she was referring to. "Um…" it clicked, "Sorry, bad phrasing. I need Ripp to _save_ Kaen."

"Alright…" she glared, then turned and called out, "Ripp? Honey? We need you!"

A few seconds later and Ripp came into the entranceway. "Yeah? What's..." he broke off noticing Erol, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You are coming with me."

Ripp drew one of his guns, fat chance. "Why should I listen to you?"

"Ripp," Leeta placed a hand on his arm, "This sounds crazy, but I think you should go with him."

He jerked, unprepared for the contact, "Why?"

"Because Miss Kaen's life is at stake and neither you nor I want her dead."

"In that case," he kissed her cheek, "I'll be back later." Turning to Erol he said, "Lead on...I guess."

"Great. Let's go."

--

Kaen retreated as far into her mind as she could, waiting and waiting for the perfect moment. Arbner was out there, in the real world, doing god-knows-what with her physical form. Well, she knew he had shot her a few times, broken at least two ribs and had caused internal bleeding. Other than that, she was perfectly fine.

"Are you afraid?" he asked, shoving her to the ground. He was laughing hysterically, a mad man. An absolutely mad man.

She just glared at him, watching now. Finally, using every speck of energy she had obtained, Kaen screamed. A distraction and a tip-off. Perfect.

--

"Where the hell are we going?" Ripp demanded, following Erol through the palace hallways.

"Detention center. Just shut up and run." Erol snapped, glancing back at Ripp over his shoulder.

There were voices up ahead and Erol stopped, flinging out his arm to hold Ripp back. "Alright, new part of the scheme, turn around." He commanded.

Ripp gave him an odd look but did as he was told. Erol grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, "What're you doing?!"

"If anyone asks, you're a newly captured convict." Erol replied, "Now give me your other arm."

Ripp again did as he was told. "If it turns out that this was just some brilliant plan to arrest me, I'll gut you..."

"It's not. Keep your hands there," the older man spun Ripp back around, gripping him by the bicep. "It's a convenient cover-up." And with that they continued on to the detention center.

--

Arbner slapped her hard across the face. "Shut up! You and Jance, you're both too strong for your own good. But no matter. You will both be punished the same way."

Kaen felt her stomach twist into knots. Here was the part she didn't tell Erol, the part she'd been hoping would have been totally avoided. It was the same punishment that Jance received three times a day. And now it was her fate too. She wasn't someone to pray, but she prayed to whoever was listening that she would die before he did a thing.

--

Erol let go of Ripp the moment they entered the center, and he motioned for the gangster to follow him.

Ripp drew both guns and tapped Erol on the shoulder, offering him one, which the commander gratefully accepted with a nod of the head.

Their boots clicked on the floor as they neared Kaen's cell. Erol readied his borrowed weapon, hoping there was still time...

"People," Arbner snarled, turning around. If she could have, Kaen would have broken down with tears of relief. At least nothing _too_ bad had happened yet.

The man hit her harshly, then pulled out his gun and walked into the opposite corner from her, into the shadows.

Erol reached the cell first, he was about to enter when Ripp shoved him out of the way, pointing his gun at the shadow. "You," he snarled, "Get out into the light. Now."

Soft laughter. "No. Why should I? After all, I've saved you the trouble of killing your lover - mostly."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Ripp asked, knowing that there was no way this man could have done anything to Leeta.

"I'm not talking to you, fool! To Erol, beside you. Doesn't he want to look at the remains of his girlfriend?"

"Ripp, move. I've dealt with this creep before. I know how to handle it."

Kaen heard his voice and tried to look up - tried being the keyword. Her energy was completely gone and she could barely keep her eyes open.

Arbner saw this and smiled, "Come on now man. From where I'm standing, one quick shot to the head would end all her pain. Doesn't that sound nice Even with backup, you won't win this fight."

Erol smirked, "That does sound convenient." He brought the gun up to bear on the source of Arbner's voice, "Though it might take two, you've got a thick head."

"I was talking about her, but obviously you've decided to take it as another meaning. Oh well, I'll show you what I meant." He fired a warning shot past her head, leaving a gash in her forehead.

Erol flinched, "I'm glad I don't have _your_ aim. Otherwise we'd be here all day." Behind him there was the sound of Ripp's face meeting his palm and a muttered curse.

"That was a warning, but if you'd prefer." Another shot, but this one coming considerably closer to actually drilling into her brain. She managed a weak twitch, but that was all.

"Why must you provoke him?" Ripp muttered, "Alright, you creep get out of the shadows. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a coward." He kept his gun trained on Arbner's head. His trained assassin eyes could easily pick him out.

"How many times do I have to tell you? The moment you shoot me, I shoot her. And neither of you wants her dead. You boy, whatever your true name, are one of Kaen's most important contacts. Then there's Erol, who desperately loves her and is under the foolish impression she loves him. No, neither of you will kill me."

"You never said that. Besides, it's like you said, one shot is all it'll take."

"Blade, don't make this worse." Erol said, stepping over to Kaen to see how much damage Arbner had done to her.

"Look long and hard Erol. Look long and hard. I got everything you ever held dear. Hoped to hold dear. Everything."

Slowly Erol knelt next to her, reaching out gently brush some of her hair away from her forehead. Abruptly everything around him changed. His hand seemed to shrink and became covered with blood. Kaen's limp form shifted to a woman with hair the same color as his. He jerked his hand away and stared at Arbner, his breath already coming in short uneven gasps.

Now Arbner was just intrigued. "Remind you of someone? I heard your mother was slaughtered - terrible thing."

"_She_ has got nothing to do with this." Erol snarled, feeling the sting of the lie.

"She was _murdered_?!" Ripp cried from where he stood.

"Shut up Ri-Blade."

"You're lying. So somehow this has changed into an argument about your mother. Was she raped and murdered too? That would explain an awful lot. But if it is about your mother, you won't mind if I…" he readied his gun, "Just get rid of a distraction."

There was the sound of a gunshot as Ripp honed in on the movement. Why hadn't he just tried to shoot the gun out of his hand before?

"Dammit!" Arbner swore, stepping into the light. "Even if you do kill me now, she'll die of internal bleeding far before you can get her to any doctor! I've still won! I'VE STILL WON!"

"Don't count on it." Erol snarled, getting to his feet. He glanced back at Ripp, "You _did_ take after your brother that way, didn't you?"

Ripp nodded, "You know it."

Arbner glared at the pair, "Just do something for the love of god! Don't sit there and discuss family history! Or I might just go back to my," he paused and licked his lips, "Previous engagements."

"You're not going to have a chance," Erol faced him again and lowered the gun considerably, "You're _not_ going to defile her. Or anyone else for that matter."

"I do admit, this is the one place you could stop me. But you won't, not in the way I'm thinking at least."

Kaen struggled to stay conscious, but wasn't succeeding. A hiss of air escaped her lips before she fell to the floor, eyes slightly glazed over. Pain.

Arbner heard and blinked, "I didn't think she'd die so soon…"

Ripp was in the cell in an instant, one hand on her neck, "Mind hurrying up Erol?" He asked, voice slightly panicked. They were cutting this too close.

"Fine." Erol snarled, and he fired twice.

Arbner doubled over in pain, falling to the ground right beside his victim. In the first time in memory, he'd won. Not dead and his enemies defeated. On the downside, he was now terribly wounded, but that would pass.

Her heart was slowing at a disturbing pace. There wasn't long. This argument was becoming exactly what Arbner had hoped: a distraction. If she had thought those five minutes were scary, it was nothing compared to this. She wasn't in control this time. This time she could die.

Ripp made to pick her up, but Erol managed to beat him to it, "Hang in there Kaen..." his voice was quiet, "Please."

As they left the cell, Ripp turned around and gave Arbner a mocking middle finger salute, "See ya, eunuch."

Arbner growled, but said nothing. He was too busy watching the other pair, trying to hold back from laughing. "She's gone again Erol. Can't you tell by the lack of life in her eyes? Not even the great Kaen can cheat death twice."

Erol offered him no response but turned and left the detention center Ripp in tow. There was still some time left, he just hoped it would be enough.

If Kaen had had energy and life, she would have slapped him. She was in need of medical assistance AND THERE WAS A DOCTOR RIGHT BESIDE HIM. But she couldn't, so she didn't. With an inward sigh, life finally rushed out of her. She died with a small smirk on her face.

It was as though Ripp could sense it. "Erol stop. Put her down."

Erol gave Ripp an odd look but did anyway.

The gangster placed his fingers to her neck and swore loudly. "Way to go. She's in cardiac arrest. You're an idiot!"

"Oh god..."

"Damn straight!" And with more angry mutterings at Erol's stupidity, Ripp initiated CPR.

It was odd dying and coming back so soon. Like waking up and falling asleep immediately. But she wasn't fully there, sort of a half spirit thing. Her heart still wasn't beating and her lungs weren't working, but her mind was waking up and that was the most unfortunate thing of all. That meant her nerves were awake and she could feel the pain.

"C'mon," Ripp muttered irritably, "Dammit, live!"

'Let me die Ripp. Please just let me kick it. I did what I tried to do, nothing more. Now let me bloody die!' she thought at him, now forcing her heart not to beat out of sheer spite.

Ripp was persistent, painfully so. He glared at Erol. "This is your fault you know!"

"What else is new?" Erol muttered. He always managed to do this; he managed to screw up everything that ever meant anything to him. Friendships, family, love...everything.

Kaen sighed to herself - meaning only in her mind. Ripp was going to force her to live, she supposed. So, with great irritation, she let her heart start to beat, but in irregular bursts.

Relief flooded Ripp; it was something at the very least. It wasn't overly positive, but it was something. "Finally..."

Erol felt his despair give way to...something...it wasn't quite hope, but it was close.

The next heartbeats were much more regular, falling into a pattern. Cardiac arrest. That'd be just her luck. She let a tiny trickle of air into her lungs. It burned.

Ripp looked at Erol, "Should I carry her this time? Or should I risk her in your hands until we get back?"

Erol knelt to pick her up again.

Ripp stood, "If she flat-lines again, I'm sending _you_ to _her_. _Not_ the other way around."

Erol nodded, "Fair enough. Let's head back..."

And so they did. Kaen lost and regained consciousness around fifty times in that space, each time remembering more and more of what transpired. It was like she'd been to hell.

Ripp walked in the door without even knocking, "Leeta!" he called. Looking after Kaen would be more than one person could handle and he had the distinct impression that Erol wouldn't be much help. "Leeta!"

"Yeah? Are you back so soon" Leeta poked her face out of the doorway that lead into the living room. "What in all the world… MISS KAEN! Ripp, Erol, please bring her inside and into the spare room. Now!"

"You heard her," Ripp said, it took him a spilt second to realize that Erol wouldn't know where that was, "Over there." He pointed to a door.

For the first time since she'd died, Kaen opened her eyes, which took all or more of her energy. They searched around until they found Erol's face. He was still there. She made a very pathetic attempt to smile.

He set her down on the bed gently, recognizing the attempt. "Hey sweetheart." His voice was softer than he could ever recall it being.

She blinked, trying to remember how to form words. Finally she managed a small sentence, "Sweetheart isn't right."

"Sure it is." He kissed her forehead.

She smiled again, closing her eyes. "I…it…it hurts. I thought…thought I was dead for good…"

"Relax, Ripp's going to get you patched up, you'll be fine."

"No. I'm not going to be fine. I failed. I failed in the sacrifice. Why couldn't you all just let me die?"

"Because I love you too much to let that happen."

Her smile disappeared, like a light being snuffed out.

Erol lightly gripped her hand, unsure what to say.

"The real question is," she whispered, feeling the darkness creeping into the corners of her vision, "Do you really mean it? And," she paused to breathe, "Did you actually want me to say it too." It was a statement more than a question.

"I mean every word of it."

"So Arbner was lying," she mused. "Why did I listen is the question…"

Erol shrugged helplessly, "I have no idea."

"Mmm." Her vision grew dark once more. "I think I'm going under again." She had started pacing her heartbeats. "Don't leave me Erol. _Please_ don't leave me here to die alone."

"I'm not going to, I promise." He said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Convinced, Kaen allowed herself to pass out once again.

Ripp came into the room sporting a bag over his shoulder. He brushed past Erol and set it down, beginning to pull out all manner of medical equipment.

"No! Stop!"

Ripp spun around to face the speaker, "Why should I?"

Cayden, looking extremely distraught, entered the room. "I just want to see her before you do anything."

"Fine," Ripp moved to let him have a look.

The huge man nodded and walked toward her, falling to his knees beside her limp body. He watched her for a moment, then turned and left, not saying another word.

Ripp worked silently, preparing to tend her wounds. He moved Erol out of the way and pressed a needle into a vein on Kaen's arm. That should keep her stabilized for a while.

"Is she alright? Or rather, is she going to be alright?" Leeta had joined them, "Cayden's locked himself in the bathroom. I know it was necessary for her to die, but it doesn't make it any easier."

"_Necessary_?" Ripp growled. "It's never necessary," his voice was cold.

"She _wanted_ to die?" Erol asked, speaking for the first time since Kaen had passed out.

Leeta shrugged, obviously unconcerned. "Yes. Kaen was ready to die, wanting to die. She chose that fate, as many of them did. She is one of two that survived. It's no big deal, except that she's one of two."

Ripp nodded, only half paying attention. He picked up a pair of scissors and cut off what remained of her shirt. He examined her ribs and sighed, swapping the scissors for a scalpel. He'd have to move them back into position himself.

Leeta's words finally registered with Erol, "You mean it's a kind of _tradition_?"

"Everyone in the family must make a sacrifice. Her father's sacrifice was her and her's was herself. That is why she let herself die. Now she can rule without shame. Except, the experience truly scares them and they are never the same again." She paused, "I thought her sacrifice was going to be _you_."

"I think I'd have preferred that…"

"Would you? Her ability to bring herself back from the dead saved her – you have no such gift. She'd have had to kill you. Could you forgive her if she tried?"

He thought about it for a minute, "I could."

Leeta stared at him long and hard, "But she'd never forgive herself. That's why she did what she did. The only question left is what comes after."

Erol sighed and shrugged, he knew what he'd want to happen, but had no clue if things would play out correctly. He looked longingly at Kaen.

"What's that look mean?"

"I'm just thinking…"

"A dangerous thing." A new voice: Valen. He had come in, but without his usual happy air. No, it was a hopeless air. Despairing. "What _were_ you thinking about? Or must I look into your eyes and fish it out?"

Erol shrugged, "Your choice."

"Aloud then? Maybe Kaen will hear and her mental state upon waking will change."

"What do you mean by that?"

Valen sighed, "When Kaen wakes up; I have a feeling that I'll be the only male that can go near her."

"Oh god…" it shouldn't have surprised him, it didn't really, but hearing it out loud made it seem much more real.

"Of course, you'll follow different rules than even me." The psychologist walked over to her and grabbed her arm. "May I?"

Ripp glanced up, taking a moment to realize Valen was speaking to him, "What? Oh…sure."

Needing no further permission, Valen stretched her arm out to full length and made a mark on the ground directly below where her wrist was. He then replaced her arm to its usual position. "There you are. It's as close as you can go."

"So, arm's reach? Fine. I can live with that."

"I should also mention that that's the farthest you can be."

"Wait, what?" Erol felt confused, "That makes _no_ sense."

"Yes it does!"

"No, not really."

"Look, Kaen can't live without you, right?" Valen said it slowly, like he was explaining it to an idiot.

"Apparently…"

"Other than the two times you've killed her, she has drawn energy from you…"

"_I_ did _not_ kill her."

"Okay, you killed her the first time around. I've got it on tape."

Erol sighed, there was no way he could win that argument, "So you're saying, she'll want me around but can't stand me to be anywhere near her."

"Can't stand to have you _touch_ her. Feel free to talk to her, but don't talk about touch or try to hold her hand. And do _not _try to kiss her. _And_ be sure to tell her when you're leaving. And one more thing…"

"Have her home by ten?"

Valen grinned, "That's _after_ she lets you touch her again. No, I was going to ask if seeing her cry will annoy or scare you. Because I'll bet she'll cry during any nightmares."

Erol shook his head, "Doubt it."

"Right. Ripp? Finish fixing her up while I get Erol a chair. Stupid girl. Why must she always be so maddeningly stupid?" And with a chuckle, he went on his way.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

Here we are again! More randomness! Kaen, Valen, Cayden, Ripp, Leeta, Faine, Arbner and anyone else I forgot to mention belongs to us. Knives belong to me. Valen's description of Kaen and Erol belongs to Zits creators Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman.

Enjoy.

* * *

It was two weeks before Kaen regained consciousness and Erol hardly left her the whole time. It wasn't easy, training himself to only be arm's reach away or not touch her. There was so many times where he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms, but knew he couldn't.

One day, while Kaen still slept, Valen finally announced the news, "During a private chat last night, Kaen is willing to try to introduce touch again. While I think kissing is going too far, feel free to hold her hand."

Erol nodded slowly, "We'll see."

"Are you going out again today?"

"Yeah, I've got to practise for the class three. I've gotten rusty."

"Fine, we'll see you later then. Go get that testosterone out of your system."

He nodded again, "See you in a while." And with that, Erol turned, heading off to the stadium.

--

Around three hours later, Kaen woke up. She could no longer feel any pain, which could only be a good sign. "What's going on?" she asked Valen, who had sat down in Erol's vacated chair.

"Nothing important. Erol's racing again, I think. And Ripp says you're well enough to move about now."

She smiled, "I can go home now?"

"It's only two minutes away," Valen shrugged.

"Right." She swung her legs out of bed and got up. Obviously all the time spent in bed had decreased her walking abilities a bit. She stumbled to the door. "See you Val."

"Yeah." He waved, but didn't turn in her direction.

It was nice to get out into the fresh air after being locked up for so long. Ripp, Leeta and Cayden had all been extremely generous while she'd stayed with them, but there was nowhere like home. She could feel her heart calm itself as she stepped inside.

People bowed and curtsied as she passed them by, heading for her bedroom. It was like walking through a crowd of robots. Eventually she made it to the room itself and once she was inside, proceeded to clean herself up. She'd made up her mind about what to do next: go find Erol at the stadium.

And so she did, deciding to drive rather than walk. In the limo the trip only took a few minutes, helped along by the clearance of traffic from her path. No one would dare to hinder the Lady Kaen's journey, no matter how small. Once they'd arrived, she let the limo driver take the car back home. She'd be walking back.

"Wonder where he is?" she muttered to herself. More bowing and lowered gazes. Irritating. She continued her search for Erol, but the moment she found him, her world stopped turning and a cold lump formed in her throat. Arbner had been right.

--

Keira was leaning on his arm, gazing up at him with a love struck impression. She giggled.

Erol was looking down at her; it was taking ever ounce of self control he had not to slug her, even if she was a girl.

The mechanic glanced over at the other woman, "Hello," she said, "Are you lost or something?"

Erol glanced over and felt his blood run cold. He pulled his arm away from Keira, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm in the process of asking myself the same thing." Kaen bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her emotions in check, "Actually, you helped me realize a hard truth. I must thank you for confirming the sincerity of Faine and Arbner. I'll not make the mistake again." She smiled coldly, and then turned her attentions to Keira. "He's all yours," she said and then turned and left.

"Did you know her?" Keira asked sweetly, taking hold of his arm again.

He tugged it sharply away, "She's my girlfriend!" Or _was_.

"Your what? But I thought-"

Erol interrupted her, "You were _wrong_. You're my mechanic and that's it!"

"But..."

He turned away, hoping that he could still repair the damage that had been done, and left, trying to find Kaen.

--

Kaen did not run away – no, she would never do that – but she walked away very quickly. Her vision was blurred. Both Faine and Arbner's hateful words rang clearly in her head. She had hoped for too much. As she walked, she tried to stay as close to the walls as possible. Once, during one of his rare sane moments, her father had told her that the only thing that would ever care for her was the city, not the people, but the city. It was a comfort to stay near to it.

"Kaen wait!"

Did he think her a fool? She held her head higher and continued. What had she been thinking? She'd just stood there as he spoon fed her that bullshit about love. No wonder he hadn't wanted to hear her words back.

"Kaen please!"

She walked even faster, bordering on a run. There was a large group ahead and beside them a turn off into another street. Perfect. The moment she became obscured from view, she slipped into the side street. Her head was hammering. Careful, she warned herself, you can still relapse. Since no one was around, Kaen allowed herself to slip to the ground, leaning against the wall. She felt a few small tears running down her cheeks. Once she got this emotion out of her system, she'd be free to return home and go on with life. Right?

Erol broke into a run as Kaen slipped into the crowd. Which way had she gone? His instincts were telling him to turn and he didn't fight them. He saw her sitting on the ground and he slowed. "Kaen..."

She glared up at him. "Why the hell are you still following me? Isn't your _girlfriend_ missing you? Was all of this just some game the pair of you came up with? Playing on my greatest weakness? Say that you love me and then keep me in the palm of your hand? Faine was right about what I am: unlovable. So was Arbner when he said you cared more about her than me. Maybe they weren't so evil after all..."

He knelt next to her more than arm's reach away. He stared at the ground. "They're wrong. She's just my mechanic. I love _you_. And I'm sorry you saw that."

"Why am I not believing you?" She ran her hand against the smooth wall. It was safe, the conversation was not.

"Kaen please, just listen. What you saw...that...that's just Keira. I've never seen her as more than a pain in the ass that can fix an engine." He looked at her, "I'm a horrible liar and you know it. There's never been anything there, never. And there never will be."

The lump in her throat was becoming more painful now and the tears were falling faster. True, he was a terrible liar, but his tendency to lie was one of the most prominent qualities she'd seen in him.

"I love you and nothing is _ever_ going to change that."

She wanted to believe him, she really did. What he was telling her was exactly what she wanted to hear. But, she still made one finally argument, "You didn't seem to mind her hanging off of you."

"I have morals, and hitting a woman is, even when I have not given her consent for a blatant invasion of my personal space, is one of them."

Kaen gave him a small smile through her tears. "Valen's going to kill you for messing with my mental stability you know." Not to mention the near cheating that had occurred.

He sighed," I know..." Shifting into a more comfortable position he said, quietly, "You hate me now, don't you?"

"I can't – that's the problem. Remember the whole Ripp and Leeta thing? I told you then that people in our families _don't fall out of love_."

Erol shrugged, "There's a first time for everything."

"Well put your mind at rest while I scold mine. Against my will and common sense, I am still desperately in love with you."

He sighed and stood up, brushing off his legs, before offering her his hand, "Want a hand up?"

"Why not?" she took his hand. It felt weird to touch someone else's skin, or gloves in this case.

The contact made his heart skip a beat, it was something. "You going to be okay?"

"Ask me after I stop this damned crying." She felt like a world class fool.

Temporarily forgetting the rule about touch, Erol slipped his arms around her in a gentle, easy to break away from, embrace.

Which, of course, she immediately tightened, feeling more secure than she had since the traditional sacrifice. She hadn't brought down Arbner, it was true, but she had died and that was enough.

That was when he remembered the rule and for a split second considered pulling away, but quickly destroyed the thought. He held her close, doing nothing but offering what comfort he could. "How are you now?"

"Better. Remind me next time _not_ to come and see you at the stadium."

"I will. And I think it's time to lecture Keira about boundaries. I should've done that a while ago."

Kaen nodded, resting her head against his chest. Thank god she'd left her hair down that day. He was probably tired of the hug, but she wouldn't let go until he did.

More than two weeks without contact had been utter torture, he'd missed it. He shifted his arms slightly, never wanting to let her go.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Am I bothering you with this hug?"

"Not at all."

"Good." This whole thing was irritatingly intoxicating. Delicately, she pressed her lips to his neck. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

His breath caught, "I love you," and he kissed her gently on the lips.

She smiled, "Love you too." She kissed him again.

He rubbed his nose against her neck. "You have no idea how good it is to touch you again."

"No, I don't. However, I do know how good it is to touch _you_ again."

He laughed quietly and kissed her neck. "It's probably a similar feeling."

"I'd gathered." And then her phone went off. "Someone's calling me?"

He shrugged, "I guess," he slid his arms away so she could have some room to deal with the call.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?!" the person on the other end shouted, making her jump.

"Valen said I could go Cayden..."

"But to where? I've looked all over Haven for you! You better not be with that boy."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Look, I'll be home soon enough."

"Tell that boy to keep his eyes and hands off you. His mind too."

"Will do. Anything else?"

"Just get home soon. You're in a delicate state."

"Okay Cayden."

"Eyes and hands off! And be home by ten!"

"Bye Cayden." She hung up on him.

"So," Erol began conversationally, "What was that about?"

Kaen just stood there, stunned. "I just got a father-daughter lecture from my bodyguard."

"Nice."

"You are to keep your eyes and hands off and I'm to be home by ten."

"Bit late for that, wouldn't you say?"

"Extremely, but he did succeed in getting your hands off me. That's got to count for something."

Erol laughed, "True, but we all know that'll be putting them back eventually."

"True, true. And we both know I _probably_ won't complain."

"You don't normally."

She whacked him on the arm. "Stop pointing out my faults."

"I don't think it's a fault."

"I call anything that dulls your senses a fault."

"Well in that case… I'll never mention our relationship again."

"No!" She had her arms back around him in a second.

He pulled her close, "Alright, fine."

"You're messing with me again."

"I'm aware."

"_No_, you just said that without knowing what you're talking about." She studied him for a moment. "Am I still insane?"

"No," and he kissed her gently.

"Good," her lips brushed his, "Very, very good." She pulled him closer.

He rubbed his nose against her neck.

"Okay, slightly off topic, but I just remembered something Valen said to me when I was rehabilitating. I didn't get what he meant by it, but it sounded rather rude. Something along the lines of, 'Once a couple, now an organism'. What does it mean?"

"That we're damn near inseparable."

"Oh," she paused, then asked, "Is that a good thing?"

"I honestly have no clue."

"Oh."

He tightened his arms around her and kissed her forehead, having no response.

"We really are doomed, aren't we?"

"I would say 'doomed' just…yeah, we're doomed."

"Thought so. We're insane, absolutely barking mad."

"Your point being…?"

She grinned, "Two crazy people running a city? No good will come of it."

"No, I can't imagine any good would come of it."

"Neither of our brains are functioning properly are they?"

"Not at all."

She kissed his cheek, "Just thought I'd point that out."

"I know," he brushed his lips against her neck.

"It's getting dark."

He glanced around, "We should probably go. Want a lift?"

"No, I'd rather walk."

"Care for company?"

"Sure." She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Do I still look like I've been crying?"

"A little."

"Dammit," she wiped her eyes again. "Any better? Or do I still look like I've been bawling?"

"Not really," he ran a hand down her cheek.

"What's that for?"

"No reason."

"We'd better go," she reminded him, "You have to have me home by ten."

"I though you were kidding," he shrugged, "Fine, let's go." He slid his arms from her and turned to begin the lengthy trek back to the manor.

She grinned and followed. Part of her wanted to catch up to him and grab his hand, but the rest of her was happy to lag behind and ponder what ideas Cayden had fed into Valen's mind.

--

Cayden paced around the spare room that had previously lodged Kaen. Valen was watching him with vague interest.

"She's only been gone a few hours," he said reasonably, "There's no reason for you to worry."

The bodyguard whipped around. "A few hours with that boy! Doing who knows what in a back alley!"

Valen sighed, "First, Kaen's too scared to do anything but hold hands. Second, Erol wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything. Not yet anyway. It would take a huge emotional upheaval to make her reattach herself to him."

"Like him cheating on her?" Cayden snapped viciously.

Silence. "He's been _cheating_ on her?" Valen whispered, not daring to believe it.

"With that girl, Keira I think her name is. My spies have reported that she's chronically hanging off him."

"And even after all this turmoil…he's been faking it?"

"It would seem that way," Cayden said grimly.

Another long silence. "Oh god…"

"What?"

"If she went down and saw Erol at the stadium…"

"Yes?"

"And she saw him and Keira…"

"Yes?!"

Valen closed his eyes, "You called and warned him off?"

The other nodded, "Of course."

"Because that was an upheaval. He would have her in the palm of his hand."

"So even after all this time of being his friend, he still pulled a fast one on you."

Valen looked ready to kill.

--

Erol walked with Kaen up to the door of the manor. He looked at her and smirked, "Home before ten with five minutes to spare."

"Ha ha ha," she said dryly. "You have my permission to gloat – Cayden won't kill you now."

"Well not over being late anyway…"

"We'll just have to find out. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

She kissed his cheek. "See you then."

He returned the action. "Bye," turning around he began to walk away.

"Not so fast Erol. Shouldn't you be waiting to talk to the father about how you just treated his daughter?" Cayden had opened the door to admit Kaen. "We need to chat." The big man cracked his knuckles.

Kaen sighed and pushed past him. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

"Alright. Me and the boy need to talk."

Erol turned around, smirking to cover his surprise and slight fear, "Alright. I was unaware of the…proper etiquette for the situation." It would be best to try and act calm. He walked over to Cayden, hoping he would survive this 'chat'.

The man mountain pulled him inside and slammed the door, showing no more kindness then than he had after Kaen's imprisonment. "Valen and me need to discuss something with you." Cayden looked around the Great Hall with pride, thankful that Kaen had decided to use the front door. It was massive but empty, with looming ceilings and many portraits of the previous crime lords and ladies. Hell, this room had made the greatest men break down and cry at their own insignificance. It was the perfect place to weaken someone's resolve.

Erol's eyes darted around nervously noting the exits, just the door behind him. The whole room was bigger than the house he'd grown up in. "So…where _is_ Val anyway?"

"In the East Wing office. Mine. Come on." Cayden went to the right and walked out of the main Hall, not even checking to see if Erol was following.

The commander briefly considered staying where he was but quickly changed his mind at the concept of pissing Cayden off more.

When Cayden entered his office a moment later, Valen was on his feet. "He come?"

"Yes, the boy is coming." He flopped down on the couch.

Valen nodded and sat back down on his chair. "Good."

Erol entered seconds later, feeling highly disoriented. He probably wouldn't be able to find his way back out of the house without help.

"Hey Erol," Valen said. "Just a quick chat."

Cayden cracked his knuckles again. "Maybe more than a chat…"

"A chat," said Valen firmly. "Just a chat."

Erol glanced warily at Cayden, "Alright then. So…"

"I assume you know what this is about," Valen sighed, making sure he controlled the direction of the conversation.

"Kaen, correct?"

"In relation to Keira. I was very angry when I found out about your cheating. Even after all this time, you _still_ don't know how lucky you are."

"I was _not_ cheating!"

"Having another girl hanging off you while your own girlfriend is recovering from post-traumatic stress is considered cheating. Especially when you're flirting back and forth. Maybe Kaen's satisfied, but we're not. I worked two weeks to help her regain her sanity and her soul. You may have just ruined all that work.

"I never flirted with Keira!"

Cayden leapt up. "I have reports of the pair of you getting all romantic, you running your hand down her cheek and all that! Don't lie!"

"One time. _That_ was an accident…"

"How can something like that be an accident?"

"You wouldn't get it if I told you."

Valen grinned, "Maybe not him, but why don't you try me?"

"Umm…"

"Tell!"

"Look, I don't know how to explain it, alright?"

"Come here and look at me."

He walked over and looked at Valen, one of the rare times he willingly let the psychologist do this sort of thing.

The whole process took about five seconds before Valen turned away. Due to his inexplicable gift of being able to actually use people's eyes as windows to their souls, he could easily see what the motive behind Erol's flirting was. This gift of his had allowed him to catch serial killers on the street, helped him worm information out of the most tight lipped witness. Erol's eyes were as easy as reading a picture book.

"Wow… You're really smitten with her, aren't you? And extremely desperate to win her – imagining Keira into her! But that was before you actually kissed, everything is different now. Keira just continued to leech off of you, endangering you and your girlfriend's relationship. The only question left to ask is when you two are going to tie the knot!"

Erol blinked, "We'll get to it...eventually..."

"Oh, so you _have _thought about it, have you" Valen asked, positively delighted. It seemed that the entire Keira incident had been pushed from his mind.

"Briefly."

The psychologist beamed. Cayden, however, did not. "This is not what I came here to discuss. It is the opposite of what I wanted to discuss. So, now we will discuss it." The man walked over to Erol, only an inch away, "You put another toe out of line boy, make one single mistake with Miss Kaen, and you will regret it with every cell in your being. Consider yourself warned."

Erol, for once, found himself not feeling overly intimidated. "I don't plan on getting out of line anytime soon."

"I'm warning you! After that whole Arbner incident!" Cayden's eyes went oddly blank for a moment before he came to his senses, "I will rip you limb from limb if she comes home crying ever again. I have never liked you, because you work from the baron, but now I could easily hate you. You don't deserve one hair on her head, not after what you did. So watch your step."

"I will, thanks for the heads up."

"Now go away."

"Fine." Erol turned and headed to the door.

Valen raised an eyebrow in Cayden's direction, "You do realize that they are going to end up together, don't you"

The big man sat down again. "Unfortunately. Any kid of his will be pure evil, especially any boy. I can't imagine what his son will be like. Twenty bucks says I'll loathe his guts."

Valen just shook his head. Hopeless.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

Again, here we go. Kaen, Valen, Cayden and anyone else I've forgotten belongs to us. Knives are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

Enjoy.

* * *

Kaen awoke the next morning to a cold house. The heater had broken down for the first time in ages and it would take most of the day to fix. So right after breakfast, she broke her own rule and headed down to the stadium. For some reason, Cayden seemed very in favor of the idea.

Since it was a warm day - still no sun to speak of - Kaen decided to walk instead of ride. She's heard that the limo driver was also an electrician or something. Might as well let him work on the house too.

The trip was short enough with less bowing and lowered eyes than usual. She even passed some people in the street that scoffed at her. Life had never been more beautiful. So, when she finally arrived, she was in an amazingly good mood considering the past day's events and that morning's dilemma.

--

Erol lay on his back staring up at the undercarriage of his racer, checking that no one had sabotaged it. A regular ritual, but one he was particularly careful about, especially now that Keira could have a possible motive for screwing around with the mechanics. She had left, practically in tears by the time he'd finished laying out the new guidelines for being around him.

It seemed she was still doing her job.

He slipped out from underneath it and gave it a final cursory glance. It was ready for the race, just like he was.

"Erol?" she called, checking the area for Keira. For some unknown reason, she had a desire to wound her grievously.

"Kaen?" He whipped around, "Hey."

"Hey." She followed the sound of his voice, "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, how about that?" He smirked, "What are you doing here?"

"My heater broke down. I swear it's about ten degrees in there! So I came down to bug you instead."

"Sounds like my kind of environment." He leaned against his racing bike and glanced at the clock in the garage.

"Which is why you get to learn to adapt to the heat." She grinned, "You racing today?"

He nodded, "Yep, in about...three minutes..."

"Oh dear. I better go amuse myself elsewhere then?"

Erol shrugged, "It doesn't take long, we could do something afterwards. It'll only be five minutes tops. What do you say?"

"Fine. I'm up for anything that doesn't involve cold, paperwork and Cayden."

He nodded, "Alright, see you in a few minutes then." He kissed her cheek and headed out of the garage, going down to the track where most of the other racers were already waiting.

She sat down on the floor and pulled out a scrap piece of calikite. Recently she'd learned how to make throwing stars, but she'd always had the instructions. Learning how to make a new weapon from scratch seemed like a perfectly adequate way to pass the time.

The race was over quickly with Erol placing first, no one was surprised by the outcome. For the longstanding city champion not make it into the Class two race, losing was a highly unlikely event. He headed back to his garage, narrowly avoiding a confrontation with Keira, and found Kaen sitting on the floor, fiddling with something.

"Oh hello. You win?" she asked, not looking up. Third time around and it was perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

He shrugged, "Sure, if you call anything about the Class 3 'winning.'" He snorted, "Amateurs." His gaze was drawn to her hands, "What have you got there?"

She handed it to him. "A throwing star thingy. I changed the design as I went along, but only so it would work with the calikite. I think I've nearly got it perfect."

He turned it over in his hands, "Nice. Looks lethal."

She got up and brushed off her pants. "Of course it's lethal. When have I ever made something with my metal that doesn't kill someone?

"No idea."

"Good. I'm doing my job properly." She kissed his cheek. "And now what do we do"

He shrugged again, "No clue. What do you feel like?'

"No clue. I want to do something mad. Absolutely mad."

"Up to you. I'm not particularly good at filling my time very well."

"Agreed. It's a Friday - usually Friday's are my housework days."

"_You_ do housework?"

She shrugged, "I won't let the maids into my office or the morgue. Someone's got to clean them."

"You have a morgue?! That's normal sweetheart."

"I have everything in that house. Hell, I think I have a _church _in there. And please stop calling me sweetheart, it's just not fitting."

He grinned, "Eyes of the beholder sweetheart, eyes of the beholder."

"I'll trust you on that one. Find another person who agrees with you and I'll let you have your land back." Despite her irritated tones, she was smiling softly in his direction.

"I don't need my land back." He said, "I need you."

"Ha-ha. Well, me and your land come as a package. It's a win-win situation for you."

"Man I'd hate to be in your shoes, having to deal with me _and_ lose land? That's got to suck."

"You have no idea." She leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose. "You're a full time job."

"Strange..."

"What"

'That's what my parents used to say about me."

She nodded, "Can't hide the truth. Though, I do think you can do more trouble in a high position of power than you can in the slums."

"You'd be surprised," he smirked.

"With you I suppose I should never be surprised. You're surprising enough on your own." She poked his arm.

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, "So...what do you want to do?"

She chewed on her lower lip. "If you wanted to do something that would give the World Monitor something to write about, what would you do?"

"Make this an official date."

"Oh god! Heaven forbid! Sure. That'll give Val something to do."

"Wouldn't it? If you only knew everything he was planning..." Erol shook his head hopelessly.

"What's he planning?" An idea, a _hope_, of what he might be talking about more or less clouded her mind.

"Take a few guesses; I want to know what you're thinking."

She went blood red, "No."

He gave her a flat stare, "Fine."

"You tell me what you think I'm thinking."

"I don't know, that's why I asked."

For a moment, Kaen actually considered telling him what was on her mind. Telling him exactly what she was thinking, what she was wanting and what she thought would never happen. But saying it too blatantly would require some serious backpedaling if things went bad. So she settled for a happy medium. "Well, if you really want to know, I think that Valen wants us to get married."

"That's exactly what he told me, though he asked when we were going to 'tie the knot.' I think he's living vicariously through us."

Her heart did a funny sort of flip. "Well, I suppose you can't blame him." She could feel the blush deepening with every word. Not a good time for becoming a sap.

He laughed, "I can't." He brushed a hand over her flushed cheeks.

"I'm blushing furiously, aren't I?"

"Yep."

"Sorry. All this just made me…" Made her what? Feel terribly happy? Loved? Full of hope and desire? She couldn't complete the sentence.

"It's fine. You're cute when you're embarrassed." He kissed her forehead gently.

"Why are you never embarrassed?" she asked him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You've seen me get embarrassed. I just don't normally color much. Except that one time..."

"What time? That time in the detention center?"

"That time," he nodded, pulling her closer to him.

"Mmm." She rested her head against his chest, "I remember that time."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he asked, rubbing his nose against the top off her head.

"Cause I'm the opposite of you - I'm not surprising at all." She kissed his neck, "It's a family thing."

"I'll trust you on that. I've never known anyone in your family, other than you, long enough to get a personality read on."

"People don't know my family, because we wouldn't let them. Better to think us gods, untouchable and untraceable. Wouldn't that seem better than having us be common mortals who bleed blood?" She sighed and closed her eyes, "Have I ever gotten around to apologizing for my father?"

"What?"

"Have I ever gotten around to apologizing for my dad's actions?"

He felt color drain from his face, "You don't mean what I think you're talking about...You can't..."

"I've picked up enough. And Valen talked about a tragedy. And I remember hearing about your mom. I was wondering if I had apologized." She had forgotten she hadn't talked about this with him. Oh well, no going back now.

He started to shake, a twenty year old wound was about to be reopened on him.

She knew then that she shouldn't have gone there. But… It would have eventually happened, no matter what the circumstances. Maybe it was best for him to breakdown here, instead of in a place that had once harbored his mother's killer. "Erol…?"

"Yeah?" his voice was already strained.

"Did I go too far?"

He tightened his arms around her, "I don't know..." it was the first time anyone had actually confronted him about it for years, he no longer knew what 'too far' was.

"Then I'll take it that I can apologize for how he," the words felt dirty even as she said them, "Violated and murdered her." There, she'd said it aloud.

A tidal wave of mental images assaulted him at her words, and his mother's screaming filled his head. It was all he could do to hold her as tightly as possible as he tried to withstand the memories he'd tried so hard to forget.

She could only imagine what he was seeing. Even she remembered the day that Faine had come home and bragged about it. He hadn't even tortured her that day he was so happy. Suddenly she asked a very odd question, "Do you want to cry?"

"You have no idea..." he whispered.

"It's okay," she tightened her hold on him, "You can cry if you want to."

The tears he'd been fighting since she'd brought the subject up began to fall. He clung to her, refusing to admit how badly it still hurt him.

Kaen didn't say anything. Some people said that real healing only came through tears. Allowing himself to cry on her shoulder had to be a good sign - he was coming to terms with it and he didn't hate her for her father's actions. She rubbed his back gently.

It felt so familiar, the same tears over the same thing, but the person with him was different. Jance, the last time he'd felt like this he'd been with his brother. It was probably the worst thing to think about. He'd still never learned what had happened to his sibling. Everything just seemed to add together on him. But why now...? Of all times...

There was something else going on under the surface, but what? She had a suspicion it might have to do with Jance, but she wasn't sure.

Just one more thing that caused him agony, the painful reminder that he'd lost his brother. Part of his mind snapped at him, his mother's death had been twenty years ago and Jance had been gone for seven. He should have been over them. He drew a shuddering breath, trying to steady himself. It didn't do much.

Still she said nothing, no words of comfort or the like. Why should she? How could she? Even now one of the people he was crying for was locked up, being abused by his guards. Jance, she realized, was a painful subject for both of them, even if Erol didn't know it.

Finally he allowed himself to loosen his grip on her and he pulled away, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "Sorry…"

"It's alright. But are _you_ alright?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I think."

She smiled at him, "That's good. Am I forgiven?"

"No. You have nothing to apologize for."

"But… Oh, forget it. I'm fighting a losing battle."

He sighed, "I hate doing that…"

"Doing what? Crying in front of someone else?"

"Yeah, that."

"Well I for one think you have nothing to be ashamed of. Unlike my breakdown yesterday, which was totally irrational."

"It was fine. You at least had a current and new pain. I'm still losing it over things that happened twenty, seven, years ago."

She shrugged, "But my pain stemmed from twenty-five years of lies. Time means nothing."

He sighed, "True," he began to pull off his gloves, disliking the wet fabric against his skin.

"I haven't seen that scar before," Kaen said, mildly surprised by a new marking around his upper hand. "It looks like you bit clear to the bone…"

"What? Oh… Yeah, I did."

"When?" she grabbed his hand and started to trace the scar.

"When I developed claustrophobia at the age of eight," he muttered.

Suddenly something Faine had said came to mind. "Hey, I just remembered something that my father told me and Mom that day. He said that there was a little boy hiding in the closet. Was that you?"

"Yeah, I'd have to say it was."

"Oh god…" she touched his cheek, "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright it's not your fault," he turned the hand she held over and gave hers a squeeze.

She squeezed his back. "Your face clears up fast."

"Does it? I never noticed…"

"How could you? Unless you watch yourself in the mirror after every time you cried." She laughed, "In one of your egotistical moments, I can actually imagine you doing just that."

He laughed, "I've never done that. Now…_what_ were we doing before I lost control of my emotions?"

"You were going to take me on a date."

"_How_ did we get from _that_ to my mother?"

"There was something logical about it at some point," she sighed, "I didn't realize I'd slipped up. Should I go now instead?"

He shook his head, "No, I don't much like the idea of being alone at the moment."

"You sure? I seem to be screwing everything up today. I'll probably ruin your life by day's end."

Erol shrugged, "Bound to happen sometime," he smirked, before adding more seriously, "I'm sure, alright?"

"Okay, I'll trust you on this one. I'll _have_ to, if Valen's dream is to ever come true."

He smiled and nodded, but wouldn't meet her eyes. Why did it have to be such a weird topic?

The whole idea was making her head hurt. It was if it was warning her that it couldn't be this easy. Nothing was ever this easy, especially if it was in her favor. She shuddered, ideas floating through her head.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing the shudder.

"Just a weird feeling…it scared me is all. I'm fine."

"Well…Alright…" he pulled her closer to him and kissed her, "What do you feel like doing?"

She smiled, "Surprise me."

"Way to make things tricky…" he muttered.

"I'm not _that_ hard to please…am I?"

"No, but I have no clue what to do. Honestly I just like being around you, so…"

"So…you be around me? Do I have to decide for you?"

"Yes."

Kaen didn't take too long to decide. "I, for one, would like to go for a walk. But you choose where."

"Alright, that works. Still have a curfew, or can I keep you out after hours?"

"Do as you will. I'd rather spend time at home with you than Cayden. I do _not_ know what's gotten into him lately. You'd think you were planning on whisking me away to some other planet…"

He smirked and kissed her forehead, "Shall we go then?"

"Lead on." She unwrapped herself from him and took his hand, "Where to?"

He shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'll decide when we get there."

"Smooth one Erol, smooth one."

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her cheek, "I thought so."

"You astound me."

"I know." And with that he led her out of the racing garage.

Valen stood in his study, watching Cayden pace back and forth. "Why are you suddenly so anti-Erol? He's innocent; I could see it in his eyes."

"But he was thinking about actually…actually…" Cayden shuddered.

"How many times do I have to tell you that they only need a signed document? Hell, they got mentally married a year ago. I thought I was wrong, but last night told me differently."

"He could have fooled you!"

Valen sighed, "You're just overreacting. No one can fool me. Erol could never imagine cheating on Kaen – the look in his eyes after he nearly lost her, nearly had to let her go because of a misunderstanding…"

The big man sat down. "It's just that things don't come easily for her. I can't help but worry he'll break her heart."

"You won't be disappointed. Before this ends, I have a feeling he will."

Erol felt the strange desire to head towards the slums, but he did his best to ignore the feeling. Walking around without a set destination was certainly a strange thing to do be doing, yet it felt oddly relaxing at the same time, or maybe that was only because Kaen was with him…he didn't know and he didn't really care either.

"Do you know what time it is?" she asked suddenly. The sun had set quite a while ago and it was starting to get cold. Yet she hadn't really noticed. It was strange.

"No clue," he put his arms around her and pulled her close, "Why?"

"It's cold, but you're warm, so I'm not so sure I care anymore."

"I'm not going to mention temperature…" he smirked and kissed her neck.

"Just because you can live in an ice cube," she kissed him, "Gives you no right to brag."

"I wasn't bragging, merely commenting. Not my fault my dad was too cheap for central heating," he brushed his lips against hers.

"No. It's not." Kaen pulled him closer. "We really should see what time it is."

He glanced up at the sky, his gold eyes calculating. "_Really_ late," from the position of the stars he guessed it was about two-thirty in the morning.

"Really late translating into really early?" No wonder she was tired.

"Yeah, I should take you home before Cayden decides to skin me alive."

"If it's after midnight, too late." She yawned, "Cayden doesn't like me around the people that work for me."

"So if I were to tell you it's about two-thirty…"

Her eyes widened. "I'm not sure _I_ want to go home. The next time you'd see me would be at my funeral."

He laughed, "Well, unless you want to go back to my place again, I don't really see much choice."

"Hmm," she said, pretending to think about it, "How about _no_. I can go back to my other house, well, one of them anyway. There's one nearby," she paused, "Or I can sleep in an alley. I'm not picky."

"Buildings are nice things. You might get cold in an alley."

"It's true, but alleys are fascinating. This part of town is pretty decent – it's been half a year since the last murder and seven weeks since the last rape."

"That's actually kind of creepy. But of course if you have your heart set on sleeping in an alleyway…"

"No, just commenting. I'll go to my nearest house, it's not far."

He kissed her, "Alright, I'll drop you off there, and I should probably head home."

"'Kay." She was half tempted to tell him she wanted him to stay, but that would sound weird. "Let's go."

He glanced around, it was going to be a _long_ walk back.

"You worried about something?"

"Not really."

"Then why were you looking around?"

"Just figuring out how long it'll take me to get back to my place." He was going to be home by four if he was lucky.

"Well," she paused, "If you don't want to walk home, I'm sure my place has a spare room."

"And you won't find that weird?"

"No…and yes…"

He smirked, "I don't want to burden you."

"You won't. It'd be nice to have you around. Natural."

"You sure?"

"Positive. I really, really, won't mind. I..." She stopped and went red.

"You...?" It was hard to see in the night, but he knew she was blushing.

"Never mind."

"Alright, so...let's go then."

"Right. Let's see if I can remember the exact directions I've never been there before, but I had to repeat the location of all my houses twenty-five times to Cayden before he was satisfied."

Erol rolled his eyes.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No."

"Then why'd you roll your eyes?"

"Never mind..."

"You amaze me."

"I know."

She groaned, "Erol can't you come up with _anything_ more interesting than that"

"No."

"And why not Valen came up with a more interesting answer than you."

"I'm not Valen."

"I know you're not Valen. If you were, you wouldn't be interested in me in any way."

"No, I wouldn't be. Personally I prefer being me."

"That's good. I think we turn left up here."

Erol said nothing but he nodded and followed her

Kaen didn't have much problem remembering how to get there. It was a small house by her standards, and rather nondescript. But it was shelter. "Here we are."

He looked at it. "I would have though it would be...bigger if it was yours."

"My houses are all different. My one in the slums could really pass for a slummer's house. I've avoided it thus far."

He smirked, "I think I'd want to see that one sometime, you know, to compare."

"Very funny. Maybe one day I'll let you go see it. In the meantime, I think I'm going to inside."

Erol followed her, glancing around at the interior of the house. "Nice," he commented.

"It's not much," she sighed. "But at least it's heated. I'm going to go wander around and see where everything is. You can come if you want or you can do me a favor and see if the kitchen's suitable for use."

"I'll do that." He grinned remembering the last time she'd been in a kitchen.

"You're mocking me," Kaen said, actually looking slightly hurt. "Not my fault I can't walk into a kitchen."

"Sorry, it's just..." he trailed off, having no clue how to finish the sentence without offending her.

"Just finish your sentence."

He sighed, "It's just amusing. That's all."

"I give up. Thank god I don't have to do all that work myself. Now, I'm going to go look about."

He nodded, "I'll go scout out the kitchen."

"Okay." And with that, she headed off into the nearest room.

He turned around and walked off in the other direction.

The whole search took her about twenty minutes. One master bedroom and two normal rooms, all with their own bathroom. An office with a link into her private computer. And, for some unknown reason, a room completely full of mirrors. Finally she returned to where they had come in.

Erol's search had gone considerably faster, it hadn't taken long to locate the kitchen. After checking over the appliances he'd come to the conclusion that it would work fine.

"So...What'd you find?"

"Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an office and a room full of mirrors. You?"

"I thought I was only looking for the kitchen. It's not too bad," he said, barely stifling a yawn.

She smiled at him. "You're looking as tired as I feel. Shall we go choose our rooms?"

"Yeah, sure."

Kaen headed in the general direction of the three rooms she'd found. "Okay, here's the three. The one on the far right is the master bedroom. Take whichever one you want."

Erol chose one of the smaller ones. "So...See you in the morning I guess."

"Right." She yawned again. "Night." She kissed his cheek and walked away.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

Alright. New chapter. Kaen, Cayden, Valen and any other OCs mentioned are ours. Knives are mine. Erol is Naughty Dog's.

Enough formalities, on with the story.

When Erol woke up the next morning he had a very brief freak-out over the fact that he had no idea where he was. It only lasted a couple seconds before he remembered that he was in one of Kaen's houses. He glanced around, looking for a clock, but didn't find one. For all he knew it was one in the after noon. He'd certainly felt tired enough to sleep that long.

Kaen was already on the phone arguing with Cayden over whether or not being out for over twenty-four hours was alright. Especially if it was spent with only Erol. When she finally hung up, she felt ready to punch Cayden in the jaw more than once.

He left the room deciding to go find Kaen. He half wondered if Cayden had put out a warrant demanding his arrest yet, he wouldn't be surprised.

"Cayden, you are a bloody…" she stopped herself from swearing at her phone. It was too early in the afternoon for an argument.

Erol followed the sound of her voice, "Hey," he said, walking up behind her.

"Hey. Have I ever mentioned how much Cayden irritates me?"

"No, I don't think you have. Why now?"

"He's decided you tried to kidnap me last night." She tilted her head up to look at Erol, "You didn't, did you?"

"We're at _your_ house. What do you think?"

"I dunno. Maybe this is all part of your plan to lure me into a false sense of security."

"'Fraid not." He slipped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. "How are you?"

"Pretty good, considering that I slept until twelve-thirty. And how are you?"

He shrugged and kissed her neck. "Pretty good."

"My, you're specific. What shall I ever do with you?"

"I have no idea," he said, part of his mind seemed to blurt out 'Marry me' but he refused to vocalize, instead he gave his head a quick shake to rid himself of the thought.

"What's wrong?" she asked, curling up closer against him. Cayden could go die in a hole, she wasn't leaving him.

"Nothing."

"Then what's on your mind? You don't seem totally at ease."

"Don't worry about it."

"Okay. I'll try not to." She closed her eyes. "How about we don't stay up until three in the morning walking around?"

"That sounds like a marvelous idea," he said, rubbing his nose in her hair. The thought hadn't actually left and it was beginning to nag at him. He did his best to ignore it.

"You're like my little notebook. I swear, I don't know what I would do without you."

"What in the world do you mean by that?"

"Well, I tell you to remind me to do stuff and then you do. I should pay you for doing it."

He smirked and kissed her.

She smiled and kissed him back. "You know, I think I like waking up with you here."

"Really?"

"Really." Really, really, really… Maybe Valen was on to something…

He pressed his lips to her neck, "It's nice to have you around when I wake up too." That thought suddenly seemed to have more merit.

"We better hope Cayden hasn't bugged this place. He might have a heart attack."

"I don't really care if he does. No offense meant to him, but when someone seems like they want nothing more than to kill you..." Erol shrugged.

"He's just worried that I'll screw up my life, like Faine did. It's a life he's decided I'll never have. He really doesn't need to tell me not to be like Faine - I figured that one out myself."

"I'm glad. I wouldn't love you if you were like him."

"If I were like him I would have killed myself." She bit her bottom lip, "I'm just scared I might actually be. Like Faine I mean."

"You're not. Not as far as I can tell." He kissed her neck again, "Not that I actually knew him, but if you were like him...you wouldn't like a guy like me."

"If I were anyone else in my family I wouldn't like you. Not unless you were my brother that is."

He pulled a face. "Have I ever told you how wrong that is?"

"No," she grinned, "You better think that the last time since we've married outside our own family was when it began is weird. Heck, I would have had to marry one of my brothers if I hadn't snapped."

Erol suddenly remembered something from the report he'd read about her, a brief mention of Faine's _fourth_ child. Did she even know? He looked at her, it seemed unlikely and now wasn't really the time to bring it up. "Well when you put it that way...It's almost a good thing you snapped."

She shuddered, "You have _no_ idea… Anyway, if my family was still alive, they'd disown me for even looking at you, much less kissing you."

He sighed, "Being disowned is not fun."

"Hey, I don't care. However, for some reason, I think you do."

"Slightly."

She looked at him questioningly. "Why did your family chuck you out? Other than your obvious flaws, I don't see anything wrong with you."

"I couldn't live with them. I couldn't do it, not while Dad tried to replace me...When I went the academy, I never when home. We sort of ditched each other."

"Oh."

He rubbed his nose against her neck. "I happen to find it ironic in a pride hurting way that I was replaced with a girl."

"You got replaced by a _girl_?" Kaen nearly burst out laughing, but she managed to compose herself. A girl.

He laughed, "I did. My little half sister, Etain."

"How old would she be now?"

Erol paused, "Well, she was three years younger than Jade... and he was six when Jance went missing...so...Jade would be thirteen now making her ten."

"Wow. They really went out of their way to replace you. Did your dad have some kind of vendetta against his first children?"

"I think Jade's name was coincidence, but I'm sure Etain's wasn't. If he had a vendetta, it was just against me. He _loved_ Jance."

Kaen thought about Jance for a moment. In a weird sort of psychotic way, he was extremely likeable. But she couldn't say anything like that, so she settled for, "Interesting."

Erol didn't know what else to say, so he began to play with her hair instead.

"Do I ask altogether too many questioned about your family?"

"Not at all. Anything else you want to know?"

"Not really. And you're playing with my hair again."

"I'm aware."

"Just saying. You seem to enjoy doing that."

"I do." He continued to play with it, "Does it bother you?"

"No, it's just funny to feel someone else's fingers in my hair." It was a hundred percent true. She really did like him playing with her hair.

"Fair enough. You can't grow it out, can you?"

She shook her head. "Nope, no more than I can change it back to its original color. It stopped growing when I was eight."

"I'd figured something like that. I mean, if it grew why bother with the tips?"

"Yeah. They come in rather handy when need be, so I'd suggest being careful."

"I am, don't worry." He'd just nicked one of his fingers on the calikite, but she didn't need to know that.

"You just cut yourself, didn't you?" she sighed.

"Barely."

She rolled her eyes. "Next time I'll remember to dull them down so you don't hurt yourself. We don't need you to look like I've been poking holes in you."

He shrugged. For some reason he currently seemed to be addicted to her hair. He nipped gently at the base of her neck, not really feeling much like talking.

She couldn't help but smile. Valen would have an absolute field day with all of this, and she didn't mean in the World Monitor. She had a sneaking suspicion that the whole marriage business was just getting started.

"What's with the expression?" He asked.

"Valen. Need I go on?"

"No, I don't think you do."

She grinned. "Well, that saves me an awful lot of talking."

"I'm sure," he murmured, lips brushing her neck again.

She kissed him, "Of course you're sure."

Erol finally disentangled his fingers from her hair, kissing her in return.

"You know, we should probably get ready for the rest of the day," she said, lips brushing his ear.

"Maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe we _should_ get ready for the rest of the day."

"I meant why did you trail off after that?" She pulled him closer to her.

"No clue."

"Okay. I can't decide if I'm in favor of it or not."

He smirked, "I'm not sure that I am."

"I have a feeling you might _never_ be in favor of it."

He grinned, kissing her again.

"I swear, you might be the death of me." She placed a few delicate kisses on his neck.

He pressed his lips to her jaw, "I think you'll probably be my demise first."

"Words like that can be dangerous. Especially when speaking about me."

"Really? How so?" He smirked.

Kaen poked his arm. "Because I could actually be the death of you."

"True, but I don't really think you will be. I lead a rather hazardous life."

"This is true. A psychotic girlfriend doesn't really change all that much."

He rubbed his nose against her neck. "Not really."

"I love you," she said for no particularly good reason.

"I love you too." He replied, nipping gently at the base of her neck once more.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Kaen looked over in its direction. "Visitors here?"

"Apparently," Erol muttered, pulling away rather reluctantly.

She sighed as she walked over to the door and opened it. "Yeah?"

Valen nearly knocked her over in his bounding into the house. "Hi guys!"

"Are you stalking us now or something?" Erol asked looking at the psychologist with mild irritation.

"No, I just wanted to come and talk to someone. I can leave now if you want so the pair of you can go back to whatever you were doing. And yes, I do have pictures."

"VALEN!" Kaen gasped; face going a very deep shade of red.

Erol suddenly found the ceiling very interesting.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm glad I intervened though, who knows how far the pair of you would have gone. Anyway, I need to talk to you Erol. How about we chat in the kitchen while Kaen goes and gets ready or whatever. We can make some lupper."

"Alright fine. But you are not going anywhere near the food, you'll wreck it." Erol sighed inwardly, why did it seem like he was the only one who could cook?

"I won't. I'll be too busy talking." Valen turned to Kaen and shoved a bundle of stuff into her arms. "Go clean up. I brought you stuff from home." He pointed to the bedrooms. "Go."

Kaen stuck her tongue out at him and left to go get ready.

Erol turned and began to head to the kitchen, not checking to see if Valen was following. He knew he would be.

"So… Seems like you're still pretty interested in her…"

"Understatement."

"Okay, so you can barely keep your hands and lips off her."

"I am aware of this. Your point?"

"Well, Cayden has found some pictures of you and is ripping them into very tiny shreds…"

"I'm not surprised. I'd rather he does it to pictures than the actual me."

Valen sighed, "You can't keep hiding in this house forever. You _are_ still the commander Erol. Sure, Kaen can run the city from here, but you can't."

"I know. I've been missing too long."

"Quite frankly, I don't see too much of a problem with staying with Kaen at all times, but everyone else seems to think otherwise. In any case, this is not exactly what I came to bug you about."

"Alright, you actually came about what?"

"Go start lupper and then I'll tell you. You might feel better if you can lob hot weapons at me."

Erol did as instructed, pulling off his gloves and begging to prepare something. "You _could_ just tell me what this was about..."

"Well, one look at the pair of you and I could tell exactly what you were saying with practically every kiss."

"Oh?"

"In my opinion, I say you now have two choices. Choice number one is that you break it off with her and just get out of her life."

"And I think we both know neither of us would really survive that."

"I know. Which brings us to the only other option." He paused. "Erol, you've got to just get it over with and ask her."

"I know...I've been thinking about it a lot lately."

"I _know_. That's why I'm bugging you to do it. Personally, I'd prefer if she was married _before_ she got pregnant. Anyway, both you and I know rejection isn't a problem."

Erol cringed, and ran a hand back through his hair. That possibility hadn't even occurred to him...

"You hadn't thought about rejection, had you?" Valen sighed.

"No, not at all."

"You shouldn't be scared of it. Kaen wants it just as much, if not more. And I think she'll agree with me on the pregnancy thing."

"Hey! I agree with that too! I'm not following in my dad's footsteps thank-you-very-much. It's just..." he sighed, "I don't know..."

"Well, I'd suggest knowing very quickly."

Erol didn't respond. He wanted to marry her, but…all he really needed was a time to ask.

"I have another question. Does Kaen know that Jak has escaped?"

"Not yet."

"I'd do it soon, because I have a plan. A very good plan, if I were to say so myself."

"Care to expand on it? I'm good at ruining other people's plans without trying."  
"I suspect you haven't spent so much time with Kaen that you haven't heard the boy's a pretty decent racer." He grinned, "Some people say he'll make it to the Class One. Some are saying he's better than _you_ even."

Erol snorted, "I doubt it. People always exaggerate with rookies."

"But you were a rookie once too. What I'm getting at is that if you meet him in a race you'll be rather nervous. Victory is a bonus – Kaen won't care either way. But any fear you might have can be covered by…"

"Going up against Jak…" Erol smirked. "You're a genius and I don't think I tell you that enough."

"I know," Valen said, beaming, "It's brilliant!"

"What's brilliant? Obviously not the clothes you brought – next time bring something that covers more of me, please."

Erol whipped around, giving her a quick scan.

She glared, "I thought we'd talked about that scanning thing." Kaen was standing just outside the kitchen, toweling off her hair.

Valen snickered evilly.

"I was just seeing what you were complaining about. I _could_ do what I did last time."

"Please don't. Valen will probably die of joy if you do. He's still carrying and using that camera." She sat down, "Still, what's brilliant? And I hope Valen's not cooking – I'll pass on lupper if he is."

"Don't worry, Val's not touching anything. I get that job."

Valen snickered again.

"Well, since both of you are avoiding my first question, I'll assume it concerns me. I'll be right back – I need to put this towel away." She got up and left, muttering under her breath.

"Okay, now she's gone, I can finish my spiel. We've been covering for you for weeks, Erol, and we can't do it much longer. You and Kaen should have a two or three day break from each other."

"Alright. Fair enough. Thanks for that, seriously."

"Happy to help. Now, if you take much longer with that cooking, I will kidnap Miss Kaen off to a nice restaurant and buy her dinner myself."

Erol rolled his eyes, "You're so impatient. Relax, I'm nearly done."

"Fine. What are you making?"

"Soup. Nothing complicated."

"Oh good. You understand the rules of this meal. What kind of soup?"

"Minestrone."

"Ohh…" Valen grinned. "So 'Soup's on' is going to be a literal term?"

"Sure. What did you think I meant when I said soup?"

"Erm…soup?"

Erol sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever…"

Kaen had long since returned to the doorway and was watching patiently. Neither had noticed her yet.

It was about that time that Erol became aware of a feeling like he was being watched. He looked at the doorway, "You're back," he commented.

"I've been back for five minutes. Both of you are as observant as Torn. You know, I could have killed you both and you wouldn't have noticed."

"I think one of us would have noticed when the other one dropped dead."

"I could have killed you both at the same time," she said, stroking one of her blades.  
Erol shrugged, "Well, you didn't so…"  
"So…?"

Valen threw in a random comment, "The pair of you were talking about killing each other earlier."  
"When was this?" Erol asked, unable to remember. But then again, he couldn't really remember much of before Valen had come.

The other man whipped out a tape recorder, "Observe," he said and pressed the play button.

"I swear, you might be the death of me."

"I think you'll probably be my demise first."

"Words like that can be dangerous. Especially when speaking about me."

"Really? How so?"

"Because I could actually be the death of you."

"Um…right…and your point was?" Erol asked.

"Just saying. Neither of you have any idea what happened, do you?"

"I know I don't. Kaen?"  
"No idea. Well, I don't remember any words that were spoke."

"Most of it was just…" Just what? He could nearly remember their conversation now that he'd heard it, but most of his memory was filled with the actions that had been going on instead.

"Wow…" Valen shook his head.

Kaen sniffed the air, "Let's change the subject. What's for lupper?"

"Soup."

"You're specific. Alright, what _type_ of soup are you preparing for us?"

"Minestrone."

"Yum. Valen? Set the table." She commanded.

Erol snickered.

"Shut up Erol," Valen snapped as he fetched the dishes and started setting the _kitchen_ table.

He laughed again. _That_ was amusing.

"Well? Come on Kaen – Come sit down."

And, lo and behold, she did. Or tried to. On her belly she pulled herself across the floor and up onto a chair, looking pleased with herself. "There."

Erol gave her a rather evil smirk, "You're in _our_ territory now."

"What? You going to maul me now or something?"

"No."

"Then why the evil voice and look? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were up to something."

"When am I not? Honestly," he shook his head slowly, "It's like you don't know me at all..."

"I think I know you _too_ well. But I get worried when it seems to concern me."

"Don't. I didn't mean anything."

"Alright," she said slowly, holding onto the chair for dear life. "If it turns out you're plotting my demise or something, I'll have you thrown in the dungeon."

"Have you ever considered that this whole 'kitchen' thing is all in your head?"

She nodded, "Valen and I have gone over it several times. He thinks if I have moral support I do better."

"Indeed," Valen agreed. "Moral support is important."

Erol just nodded, "It's still rather weird."

"Well sorry for living."

He sighed, "I'm shutting up now."

"You can't win Erol. Maybe you should just give up," his friend advised. "Kaen seems to be defeating you with her pointless logic."

"It would seem that way."

"Are we going to argue or eat? If I'm the only one who's noticed the time…"

"Right sorry," Erol set the soup on the table, "I was doing a lot of improvising, so don't blame me if it tastes weird."

Kaen shrugged. "If you ate what I used to eat, _anything_ tastes good. _Anything_."

"Even Val's cooking?"

"Even Val's cooking. Next time you're in the detention center, take a peek at what you're feeding them."

"I think I'll pass thanks. Besides, I don't think there's even anyone there anymore."

Both her and Valen paused for a second, but only for a second. Unnoticeable to anyone. The thought of Jance still hung heavy in their minds. "Yeah, that's true," she said with a sigh, "But there will be more. In fact, it should be soon. Debt collections begin this week."

"So does that mean you found out about Jak?"

"What about him? Other than the fact I forgot he was there of course. Unless…" She narrowed her eyes, "Not even you would be that stupid…"

"We _both_ were actually. He escaped in the little mayhem of Arbner's arrest, after..." he trailed off, positive that she'd know what he was talking about.

Her entire being seemed to shut down for a moment as she seethed. Valen reached over and patted her arm gently.

Erol had nothing more to say.

Valen shot him a very nasty look, "Must you always bring this up?"

"What?"

"She still gets distressed about it! How would you feel if Arbner molested _you_ and people kept bringing it up?"

"Sorry...That wasn't what I was referring to. Jak escaped considerably earlier."

"Well, don't refer to Arbner! I don't really remember exactly what time all of this happened! Can't you see she's in a delicate state?"

Erol sighed and said nothing, feeling an old habit nagging at him. It took all of his self control not to just get up and leave.

"Valen can't you just leave him alone for a moment?" Kaen snapped, hands still shaking in anger. "I can still hear every word you're saying." She looked at Erol in a very apologetic way, "Sorry."

"You didn't do anything." His resolve snapped and he stood up. "I'll be around if you need me."

Valen looked very guilty, "Sorry Kaen. I'll be the ruin of you both."

She rolled her eyes, "Not me - I'm numb to your effects by now. What I want to know is what he's doing right now."

Erol leaned against the wall, around the corner from the kitchen, feeling himself withdraw from everything. This wasn't good. The only one who'd ever been able to help when he started acting like this was his brother. Mental walls slammed down around every aspect of his mind. Why was this happening again? He hadn't felt like this since he'd moved out...

"Do you think he's going to hurt himself?" she asked, poking at her food.

Valen shrugged. "I didn't bother to check. Maybe, maybe not. What did you do to him? My quick damnation couldn't have done all that!"

"I have no idea…"

It was always the same sort of trigger. The accusation of being responsible for the condition of someone he cared about. He felt a mild curiosity at what Valen and Kaen were doing now. Probably nothing. They likely didn't even care that he'd gone. No one did.

Kaen got up. "I'm going to go see what he's doing." Valen opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, "Yes, I know you'd prefer if he was alone, but I'm worried for him." She got off the chair and walked - yes, walked - out of the kitchen.

He could hear the footsteps, but didn't feel like socializing. He didn't move. If he was found, maybe, maybe he'd talk. But that was only if...

It took longer than Kaen had thought to find him, but when she did she immediately felt guilty. Hoping she wasn't invading his personal space, she walked up behind him and put her arms around him. "Hey," she said softly.

He jerked at the touch, unprepared for it. He'd barely even noticed her; a drawback of pulling back so far. "Hey."

"Did I do something to offend?"

He shook his head.

"Did Valen do something to offend?"

Erol shrugged, even Val and Torn had never known about this habit, just his family. "Not really his fault."

"Can I do anything to make you feel better?"

He looked at her. "I doubt it."

"Should I leave you to mope?" Now she was risking a little teasing.

He actually considered it. "No."

"Then what shall I do with you?"

"No clue."

"Can I persuade you to return to the kitchen with me? I walked all the way out to find you, you know."

"When you put it that way..." he pushed off the wall, "I think you can."

"Oh ha ha ha." Kaen took his hand and held it tight. "Now I have a question to ask."

"What the hell did I just do...?"

"No, but that's a good one."

He felt a slight grin tug at his lips, "Alright then, what?"

"Were you blaming yourself for my mental issues or something idiotic like that?"

He shrugged.

"Not an answer," she sighed. "Alright, since you seem reluctant to answer my question, so I'll ask you yours. What the hell did you just do?"

"I don't really want to answer that one either...That was just the original reaction I got to it..." he sighed, "It's a bit of an old habit."

"Going off into the corner and scaring everyone close to you?"

"Yes actually."

"Well, I hope you don't do that too much at the manor. It'll take months to find you."

That actually drew a grin from him, "When I really get into it, you couldn't find me in a cardboard box. Not that you'd actually ever catch me dead in one of those..."

"Really? I was thinking that to be a perfect place to dump your dead body… Thanks for crushing my hopes and dreams."

His grin faded, and he raised an eyebrow at her. Another drawback of withdrawing - it was sometimes hard to tell when someone was joking.

She rolled her eyes, "I was joking Erol."

"I probably could've figured, if the social aspect of my mind was awake." Why did he have to go pull away like that? It always made things weird. How had he let himself slip up like that?

"Well, tell me if there's anything I can do to help or if the only cure is standing around trying to connect emotion A to emotion B."

"What in the world do you mean?"

"Never mind. If you didn't get it, you don't need me to repeat it."

"True."

"I don't think I've ever heard you so compliant. I really hope you snap out of this." She squeezed his hand.

"I will in a while. Any side effects from it are temporary. I used to do it a lot, I'd know."

"Good. Now…"

"You're dragging me back to the kitchen aren't you?"

"Unless you'd rather stay here and sulk. I have a feeling that in less than an hour we will be forcibly removed from each other's company."

"Yeah, so do I."

"Your decision." Kaen let go of his hand and headed back into the kitchen, this time falling on her way in.


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

Another update. Kaen, Valen, Cayden, Ripp and Arbner are ours. Knives are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

* * *

Three days had passed since that weird lupper. Kaen had been subject to several lectures from everyone but the gardener, who seemed to readily approve. But that was of little importance. The fact of the matter was that she had not left the manor in days and had gone completely stir crazy.

"I need something to do!" she moaned to Valen as they sat down for breakfast. "Anything!"

The psychologist thought about it for a minute. "Well, you could go check on Black Ops today. I'm sure Cayden won't mind you popping in." The bodyguard had finally made peace with his employer.

She nodded, "Sure. I'll go after breakfast. I need to get out of this house."

--

Erol had to admit, he really owed Valen. His friend had done a phenomenal job covering for him. He'd have to find some way to repay him. Of course, it had still taken two all-nighters to get all of the accumulated paperwork done, but it was done. The Class Two race was fast approaching. He wished the race officials would space them out more; it would make life a lot easier for him, particularly this time around. After the Class Two was the Class One, and that meant he was about to hit a milestone.

He already had the ring…

--

Kaen entered Black Ops through one of the hidden entrances. The hallways were full of assassins, scientists, and god knows what else. As she passed, she greeted several top city officials and a judge. Ah, life in the Ops was sweet.

Her office was at the end of the corridor, almost completely unused. She unlocked the door and went inside, promptly locking it again. "Well, best get back to work," she said with a happy sigh, then began to order some new types of drugs.

--

Erol wandered aimlessly around, almost hoping to run into Arbner. It would be amusing to harass him, besides if he really pissed him off, he could kill the creep.

It was weird being back, particularly with so little to do, since there were no longer any subjects for the DWP. Praxis would probably want to talk to him about it soon… He sighed, _that_ was a conversation he was far from looking forward to.

--

After and hour of work, Kaen called in one of her employees. "I want a cherry-cheese Danish and an Americano."

The man bowed, "Of course Miss Kaen. I'll be right back with that."

--

Erol contemplated heading down to the stadium, but decided against it. He didn't really feel like dealing with Keira, he never did anymore. It would most likely be better if he kept his presence within the palace.

The Black Ops agent Kaen had sent down for the food had briefly stopped to chat with a friend. "Heard about Miss Kaen?"

"Last I heard, she was missing. What, is there some new development?"

"Nah, well, sort of. She's actually upstairs in her office, working away like nothing happened. She's sent me downstairs for food."

"Really?"  
"I know, eh? I'll talk to you later."

"Yep."

And the two parted ways.

Erol glanced over at the two men, it was hardly unusual for people to speak to each other, nor was it unusual to hear Kaen's name come up, but it caught his interest nonetheless.

The two other men walked away with a smile. Any idiot could see that that conversation had been scripted. If Erol went up to see her, Valen would be joyous and they would be one hundreds bucks richer.

The commander felt suddenly like heading up to go see her. It didn't seem like such a bad idea…

--

Kaen finally sent in her order for her lovely new mind altering substances. She checked her watch, why was that man taking so long? Feeling slightly irritated, she moved on to her hit list.

Somehow he'd managed to find her office, though he couldn't recall ever having been there before. He stood outside, suddenly doubting himself. What the hell was he doing?

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" one of the previously mentioned city officials snapped, "Wait – scratch that. What the hell are you doing here?"  
"Nothing important," Erol said flatly.

The other man scowled, "Then why are you standing outside her Ladyship's door?"

"It's not a crime."

"It could be. Have you earned her favor? More over have you earned Cayden's favor?"

"Cayden's favor? Seems unlikely," he snorted, "Her? I've got plenty of her favor."

The door opened, "What in all the world is going on out here? I'm trying to plan the ruin of people's lives!"

"I'm sorry Miss," the official said, "But this ruffian…"

Erol rolled his eyes.

"Well then, if he offends you so, throw him out!" It was another one of those moments that Kaen didn't bother to look at the offender.

"I haven't done anything. It seems like my mere existence is offensive, but…" he shrugged, "If you want me to go…"

A moment later – and much to the shock of the official – Kaen's arms were around Erol's neck. "Why can I never recognize you when I'm working?"

"No idea. How've you been?"

"Good. Now I'm better, since you're here. Shall we go into my office? And how are you?"

"Not bad, not bad at all."

"And the answer to my other question?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Right." She nodded to the official, who shrugged and walked away. Satisfied, she dragged her boyfriend into the other room and closed the door, "So…"

"So…"

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. I forgot how boring life is when you're not around."

"Is that a complement or an insult? I hope that doesn't mean I'm making a fool of myself all the time."

"Compliment. Being around you is just…much more interesting than everyday life."

She grinned, "Then thank you. Being around you makes me happier, if it's any consolation."

"I think it is." He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her.

"Good," she rested her head against his chest. She hadn't been lying when she said he made her happier.

He kissed her forehead muttering, "I love you," for no particularly good reason.

She blinked at the randomness of it. "Love you too."

He rubbed his nose against her neck, "Has Cayden planned my assassination yet?"

"No. He and I made a truce – he won't kill you and you won't live in the same house as me."

"Unless we did what Valen wants. Or would he still have a problem with us living together?"

Her face went blood red, "I – I – I don't know."

He kissed her, "I think I want to find out the answer to that…"

"Umm… Technically he'd have no choice. You'd be a member of my family and he'd have to serve you…" Why was he pursuing it so much? Not that she was complaining.

Erol laughed at the idea of Cayden having to listen to him. Just cause he was supposed to, didn't mean that he did.

"Rules are rules and Cayden knows it. You'd be amazed at the change. But first…I mean…we'd have to…you know…"

"Get married."

Her blush worsened. "Yeah. That." It was really awkward to talk about. Was he joking about it or was he serious?

He rubbed his nose against her neck again, "Relax. If you blush anymore you might spontaneously combust."

"Shut up! Not my fault! You made me!"

"I know," his lips brushed her forehead.

"Do you _enjoy_ making me miserable?" she asked, words softened by her smiling.

"Not at all. I do, however, adore pestering you like this."  
"God, I can't win! Now I will be forced to shut you up!"

"_How_ do you intend to do that?"

She kissed him.

He offered her no resistance, returning it.

"There. I shut you up."

"Yes you did. Nice one." And he kissed her again.

She pulled him closer to her.

His lips brushed lightly against her neck.

"This is one of those times I'm glad this room isn't bugged."

"I didn't know it wasn't, but I'm glad it's not."

Her lips brushed his, "Like I said, so am I."

He nipped gently at the base of her neck, "How do you always manage to do this to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Moments ago, doing this wasn't even on my mind, but now…" he nipped her neck again, ever so slightly harder.

"So I'm driving you insane?"

"Very much so."

She tangled her fingers in his hair, "Good."

He sighed, "Now I can't win."

"Even better."

His lips met hers, "Quit gloating."

"Fine. For now." She kissed his neck.

"Fair enough," he murmured, nipping at hers, again with a little more force.

At that moment the man who had gone and got the danish walked in upon the scene. He went slightly red as he watched them for a moment. Then he put the food down and backed out, closing the door behind him.

"Did you hear something?"

Kaen thought about it, "No. Did you?"

"I guess not."

"Mmm. On the other hand, I now have a danish and coffee, so obviously someone was here."

"Well that's awkward."

"Meh, whatever. Unless…"

"Unless…?"

"Cayden finds out."

"Should I start running now?"  
"No – I'll protect you. I'm not sure I want you to leave yet."

He kissed her again, 'I don't feel like leaving either."

She returned the kiss. "On a different topic, when are you racing next?"

"Tomorrow, and then, barring some unforeseen failure, I'm going again the day after."

"Good, I might come see the Class One, if I won't distract you."

"You won't, it'll be nice for you to be there."

"Okay, I'll take the day off. It'll be nice to actually see you racing." She smiled; then abruptly stopped as a feeling hit her. It was one of pain, unbearable pain, and unending loss. An ache in her gut that made her want to vomit. And then it was gone, leaving her with only a ghostly memory.

"Kaen?" he tightened his arms around her and looked at her with concern, "Are you alright? You just sort of..." he trailed off, unsure how to describe how she'd just reacted.

It was just a feeling, she reminded herself. "It's nothing. Just one of my weird moments. Paranoia and all that."

"You sure?" He asked, unconvinced.

"Truthfully? No, not at all. But the more socially acceptable answer is, 'I'm fine.'"

"Social answers suck."

"It's just that… As strange as it sounds, it felt as if the day after tomorrow you were just going to," she paused, deciding how to put it, "to disappear."

"I'm not going to 'disappear' I promise."

"I know…it's just… Oh, I don't know. Don't listen to me - I'm just being irrational."

He rubbed her neck with his nose, "Sometimes irrational's good."

She curled up against him, "I know. What I'm more worried about is if it comes true. I mean, the chances of you leaving me or dying or something during the Class One are slim to none."

"Slim describes it best I think. It _is_ a dangerous sport. Not as bad as a combat race, but still…it's up there."

"I just don't want to lose you. Not now."

"It's okay. I don't plan on leaving you, in any way." Quite the opposite, but she didn't need to know that, yet...

She tried to still herself, but the feeling wasn't going away. Actually, it was intensifying. Her lips brushed his neck as she tried to will it away.

He moved a hand to her hair and began to tangle his fingers in it. She was still worried about it, he could tell. What did you tell someone who had the feeling that you were no longer going to be a part of their life in two days?

The door burst open at that exact second to reveal a very angry Cayden. "What is he doing here?" the big man snarled.

Erol was surprised, but managed to compose himself quickly, "Spending time with my girlfriend?"

"Alone? With every single molecule melting together?"

Kaen rolled her eyes.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Erol asked in a strangely innocent tone. This was dangerous.

"Yes."

"Oh..."

"Now, unless you have something very important to do, I would advise you to release her."

"And if this is my definition of 'important...?'"

"Then you and I do not see eye to eye on what is moral and not."

"I'm not being immoral."

"Look slummer, I've tolerated it up until this point. But after that stunt you pulled a few days ago, I'm not so sure. From what Valen showed me…" Cayden stopped himself from going on.

Erol pulled his arms away from Kaen and crossed them over his chest, glaring at Cayden. What the hell was he doing? Dangerous didn't seem to describe this anymore...

The other man took a few steps towards the couple. "You know, Miss Kaen asked why I hated you so much, why I couldn't seem to see any good in you. Because I can't. Just like I couldn't see any good in Ripp. I don't know if it's tradition or my own morals speaking, but I don't think either of them should be marrying slummer boys! They are meant for people who deserve them!"

"_You_ just can't stand this being out of _your_ control!" Erol snapped.

"I don't want her to get hurt! You're a womanizer! You're a racer! Your parents were born and raised in the slums, just like you! Kaen is born for a world of riches, parties and power! True, you did stick up for her in the Arbner incident, but I just can't trust you!"

"The feeling's mutual."

Kaen tried to decide whether or not it was worth getting involved. They'd have to sort it out sooner or later, but if she didn't intervene Erol could go all moody again. After a moment of pondering, she finally decided to keep her mouth shut, unless called upon.

Cayden on the other hand would not shut up. "At least I have a sense of duty! How do we know that you'll stay true to Miss Kaen? She's - no offense - a bit hard to deal with sometimes. Maybe one day you'll decide you need a break, a permanent one."

"I've make that mistake before! And I'm never making it again." He was _not_ going to let Cayden push him around.

"Really? Really? Once was enough to break my trust forever! And you know what report has just arrived on my desk? Who's running around the streets once more?"

Erol raised an eyebrow at the huge man.

Kaen answered for him. It wasn't hard to guess. "Arbner."

"And you're pinning that on me _how_?"

Again Kaen answered, "Because you had a chance to kill him and didn't." She was having trouble not talking now.

"Sorry for being more worried about you."

She smiled and touched his cheek, "I'm just saying what Cayden's thinking. Personally I'm rather glad that I didn't die in that cell."

Erol smirked at her, "Me too."

Cayden glared at him, "Look Erol. I don't seem to be getting through to you. I don't know if I'll _ever_ get through to you. But when I come back here in an hour, you have left. Or else I will personally see your departure through an open window."

"Fine."


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

Look! Chapter Twenty five!

Same old disclaimer. Kaen, Ripp, Cayden, Valen, the new OCs and anyone I've forgotten to mention belong to us. Erol and Jak, or any other canon characters belong to Naughty Dog. Knives are mine.

Let's get on with the story.

* * *

Erol stood outside the manor. His stomach was doing flips as he rang the doorbell. This was it. If everything went well, by the end of the day he'd be engaged and would have beaten Jak in the Class One. He felt sweat beneath his gloves and took a steadying breath, forcing himself to relax.

The door was opened by an older man, the butler on duty. "Hello sir. What can we do for you?"

"I'm here to see Miss Kaen." It was weird to refer to her formally, but necessary.

"Very well. Would you like to meet her here or in the study?"

Erol thought about her house and repressed a shudder, "Here, if her ladyship isn't too inconvenienced by it."

"She shouldn't be. May I ask who is calling?"

"Erol."

The butler's eyes widened, "The commander? How unusual. I will fetch her." He closed the door in Erol's face.

Kaen checked herself in the mirror one more time. She thought she looked okay, but she could be wrong.

"Your ladyship?"

She turned and saw her butler, "Yes?"

"The commander is at the door."

Her heart did a little flip, "Alright, I'll come down."

This waiting was _not _helping his nerves and Erol had a hard time keeping himself from fidgeting. His stomach had tied itself into a knot. If Kaen took much longer, he'd go insane.

She reached the Great Hall's entrance fast enough and motioned to the butler to open the door. And of course, he did.

Erol forced himself to relax as the door opened; there was no reason to be getting worked up. He grinned when he saw her, but found himself incapable of speech.

"Hey," she said, waving the butler away. He did so, grinning.

"Hey," he replied, or tried to. For a moment his voice refused to work.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"No," this time he managed to produce sound. "How are you?" he asked, trying to keep his tone conversational.

"Intrigued actually. I didn't expect you to come."

"Didn't you?"

"I expected to have to be driven in one of my limos."

He shrugged, "I thought I'd come get you. In case you'd forgotten or something."

"How'd I forget something like this? I'm terribly excited!"

"Are you? It's just a race." He felt a tremor run up his spine as he said it. Just a race…he wished it were.

"More because I get to see Jak humiliated."

"I'll try, he's actually pretty good, but it shouldn't be _too_ hard."

"I have faith in you."

He smirked, "I'm glad." At the moment, _he_ certainly didn't.

"Shall we go?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Come on."

She took her coat from an unseen maid and went outside.

He pulled her close and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You ready?"

"Yep."

"Alright, let's go."

She nodded. Her heart was bouncing in her chest.

It didn't take too long to walk to the stadium, but Erol was glad that he'd given them ample time to get there.

"Thanks for walking and not driving."

"No problem," if he'd tried to drive right now, he probably would've killed something.

"So when does this race start?"

He glanced at a nearby clock, "In about ten minutes."

"I should get to my seat then."

"Yeah, you probably should."

"So I'll see you later?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

She didn't want him to go, but she knew he'd have to. "Good luck."

"Thanks." He felt like he needed it."

Kaen leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I really better sit down.

He nodded, "Yeah, see you after the race."

"I'll give you a reward when you come back."

"I look forward to it," he kissed her forehead, "Go find your seat sweetheart."

"Yeah. And don't call me sweetheart."

"I'll call you whatever I want."

"Fine."

Erol gave her a gentle shove, urging her out to head to the seats. He sighed as he watched her go, his nerves were getting to him again and now he had the distinct impression that he'd forgotten something.

The intercom went off signaling all racers to head down to the track. He still had no clue what he'd forgotten. He sighed, if he didn't remember it, it obviously wasn't important.

Erol glanced around as he settled onto his racer. Jak was on his left. The teen turned and scowled at the commander.

"You're going down freak!" Erol snarled, as he flipped down his mask. _This_ was the easy part.

He glanced up and waited for the signal for the race to start. Adrenaline coursed through him as he tensed in preparation. His eyes narrowed as the lights changed. The engine hummed to life as the first signal light went out. As the second one dimmed and he fed more power to the engine, Erol realized what he'd forgotten. The sabotage check.

"Forget it, no one did anything." But even as he muttered the words to himself he felt the NYFE shudder beneath him and knew that he could be in serious trouble.

The third light went out and the race started, all eight racers taking off. Erol quickly sped to the first position, but lost it to Jak on the first turn when the NYFE fishtailed. Erol scowled at it, but any thought of figuring out what had happened was abruptly pushed from his mind as one of the other racers slammed into him. Erol shoved away from him and gunned the engine. He was _not_ about to lose.

It took him the remainder of the first lap to come to the conclusion that the failed turn hadn't been a fluke, his steering was practically non-existent. He fed more power to the engine and leaned into the turn, trying to use his weight to steer. It seemed to be working even if it was a little imprecise, but the small amount of steering he had was little better.

Halfway through the third lap Erol finally caught up to Jak again. He smirked, coaxing more speed from the engine. He leaned over and cut off the teen. He had this now.

The smirk had disappeared as the NYFE shuddered beneath him. It seemed to buck and Erol fed more power into it, hoping to correct the problem. He was getting dangerously close to overheating.

Fourth lap came with Erol leading, though not by much. The racer bucked and fought against him as he sped around the track. He managed to keep the lead position until the second last turn of the fifth and final lap.

Jak cut him off and Erol in a panic jerked the steering, his zoomer fishtailed again. Again, he was hit by the next racer. He cried out as he felt his leg, wedged between the two vehicles, snap.

Grimacing in pain, he pulled the nose of the racing zoomer back the right way. Even with the fishtail and the slam his speed had barely diminished. The NYFE shuddered and bucked as if trying to throw Erol and he was forced to raise the speed again. He might still be able to win, but his concern had gone from first place to just making it out alive. He came tearing around the last turn in time to see Jak cross the finish line.

There was no point in the speed anymore and Erol hit the brakes. Nothing happened. He tried again, the end coming up fast. Still nothing. Someone had cut his breaks.

Up ahead he could see Praxis and Jak and… "Oh shit." Barrels of eco. The baron and the fugitive leapt out of the way of the brakeless racer. Erol would've just rolled off and sacrificed the NYFE, but he couldn't, not with his leg the way it was. The last thing he felt was the agony of the eco destroying him as the barrels exploded on impact.

--

"EROL!" Kaen cried out upon seeing the explosion. She tried to stand up, but one of her guards – positioned hours before by Cayden – pushed her back down. Her heart was on the verge of exploding – how could this have happened? She opened her mouth to speak again, but nothing came out. He was…gone? It couldn't be! Impossible! It was impossible!

Ripp, also in the stands, heard the gang mistress cry out. He'd been told by Cayden to watch her and he spotted her almost instantly. The gang member left his seat and headed over to hers, motioning the guard out of his way. "Kaen," he said quietly, voice calming.

She still couldn't speak, but Ripp being there was a huge comfort, his presence helping stop the seemingly never ending stream of tears coursing down her face. Finally she managed to squeeze out, "He's gone."

He nodded slowly, "Yes, he is." Ripp's voice was pure sympathy.

"I have to get down there."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Give them a couple of minutes to get the other racers off the track; then I'll come down with you."

She nodded mutely. She still couldn't believe that he had gone. Died. Left her.

Ripp didn't know what to say, he stayed next to her silently and kept his eyes on the track. The moment the other racers had been cleared off he held out his hand to Kaen. "Come on. We can go down now."

"Good," she said, getting up and taking his hand. This time none of her guards tried to stop her.

He led her down to the track, brushing past and ignoring the KG men that were down by the scene. No one stopped them.

Kaen wished Erol was there, holding her hand instead of Ripp. Strange since she was looking for _his_ body. In any other circumstance it'd be funny, but not now. Not now. She started to look around blankly, had anything survived?

Ripp gave her hand a squeeze, he knew that he wasn't the one she wanted with her, but it was the best he could do. He glanced around, there was very little left, it seemed that all that was left of Erol was his mask.

The mask – Kaen had noticed it too. She broke away from Ripp and more or less ran to it. The only piece of him to survive was metal. Tentatively she picked it up, heart pounding. The very last piece.

Ripp moved to follow when something caught his eye and he moved to inspect it. He felt his heart stop when he saw the item and he picked it up gingerly, wondering if he should show it to Kaen. It was an engagement ring.

She returned to her friend, clutching the mask to her chest. "What have you found?"

He hesitated before showing her, "I think he meant this for you…"

"Is that…Is that what I think it is?"

He nodded, "It would seem so…"

She held out her hand, "May I?"

Ripp passed it over, "I'm so sorry."

For some reason she felt nothing. "Thank you Ripp. We should probably get out of the way."

She was in shock, he'd seen the look before, felt it more than once. "We should." He agreed.

"Come on." She began to walk away, plotting revenge in her mind. Who had caused this, she had no doubt.

The gangster followed, knowing he'd have to keep a close watch on her now. There was no telling what she might do.

--

Up in the stands, a man sat silently, watching the scene with interest. Erol was dead, dead as a door nail. And blown up too! Beautiful.

"Your lordship?" his servant muttered, "We must leave."

"Yes," he agreed. "We should." There was no need to stay.

Erol was dead and Kaen would follow. His revenge would be complete.

--

Ripp watched Kaen with a calculating eye, unsure of what she would do next.

"I am going to return home. There is work to be done."

He offered no argument. He'd have to follow her, and get in touch with Valen as soon as possible.

--

Erol opened his eyes and jumped. Less than an inch away from his face was another man's, staring at him. He edged away, "Who the hell are you?"

"No talk of hell here boy, not in heaven. And for who I am, why is this important? The important question is who are you?"

"Where the – heaven? So I'm dead?"

"You blew up I believe."

"Oh, right, I did." He looked around "_Who_ are you?"

"My name, as I said, is not important. Now what is yours?"

"Erol," he said reluctantly, not particularly liking this man.

"Oh good. My name is Aaric!"

"What exactly do you find so interesting about me?"

"Your heart."

"Excuse me?!"

"Your heart? Your love?"

"You are a very strange and creepy man…"

"Excuse me for caring about my great-great- great-great- great-great- great-great- great-great granddaughter!" Aaric glared, "I really don't like you. How Kaen does…"

"Hang on, back up." Erol stared at the man, trying to absorb this information, "You're Kaen's ancestor?"

"First of the line. _I_ rule heaven, hell, and Earth – unlike popular belief. Truthfully Kaen's the first person in my line I've genuinely liked. And _you_. _You_, just shattered her heart!"

"Well sorry. Someone cut my goddamn brakes!"

"Yes… There is a man I also greatly dislike."

"Good for you. There's a lot of people I dislike." Aaric was quickly becoming one.

"And now Kaen will die. This cannot happen! Cannot!" the man's eyes bulged.

"How is this _my_ fault?!"

Aaric shrugged. "She is now alone, vulnerable, weak. He will strike hard, fast. Her death will be gruesome and painful. If she doesn't kill herself first."

"I -" he broke off, he was dead, he couldn't do anything.

"Being dead is hard isn't it? You get to see friends and family, enemies of every sort and watch people you love or hate arrive. Like my granddaughter." He backed away. "Would you like to see the damage?"

Erol ran a hand back through his hair, "Do I _want_ to?"

"I don't know. How could I? I don't have the same reality as you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think something is one way but it might be the other."

"You've lost me…"  
"Just let it go. I will take it as you do not wish it."

"Not particularly, no."

"Very well. Feel free to frolic. But do not anger me – there are things worse than death."

"I'm sure there are."

Aaric shooed him off. "Go see your family. Or find a pretty girl. There are lots of pretty girls up here."

Erol pulled a face at the 'pretty girl' comment. _His_ girl was still alive and he'd never be able to go for anyone else. But he wandered off, wondering who he would run into.

The old man nodded happily. So he'd passed the first test, but what of the second?

Dead. He was dead. The concept seemed so foreign to him.

"Erol!"

He spun. He _knew_ that voice. The last time he'd heard it, it'd been screaming in agony.

Arms wrapped around his neck and lips pressed to his forehead, "Look at you, all grown up. My little boy's a man."

Erol returned the embrace, "Hi Mom." Admittedly, it was weird to be addressing her as 'Mom.' She'd been twenty-nine at the time of her death and that meant that he was now physically just a year younger than her.

She stepped back and raised a scolding finger, "I _knew_ that sport would get you killed one day. I knew it!"

"I don't even think I was into racing when you died."

"Oh you were. And just because I'm dead doesn't mean that I couldn't know that sport would kill you. I was watching you, you know."

Erol pulled a face, "Thanks for that…"

"I'm your mother; I would've been watching you anyway."

"Oh, right. Hey Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Where's Jance?"

She blinked, "I'm…I'm not sure. He's around somewhere…" she knew exactly where her eldest son was, but Erol couldn't know. "He'll turn up eventually."

--

Jance glared at the shackle around his ankle. Weeks of starving himself had made him stick thin. He could nearly get his foot out of it. Nearly. He strained against it, he was already in a cell, what did he need this restraint for? He growled, still not quite able to get out. A howl of frustration echoed around his cell, there had to be some way to get it off. If only he had something to lubricate his ankle… An idea came to him.

The scarred man twisted around into a position that would have made contortionists cringe, and sank his teeth into his ankle. He winced as he bit down harder breaking through the skin. Blood spilled from the bite, sliding along his foot.

He pulled against the manacle, grimacing as he finally slipped his foot free. The metal clattered to the floor. He was still confined but at least he could move around again. He sat back in his corner, running one hand down the wall; he hadn't been able to reach it since he'd been chained. The familiarity, the comfort of it…

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, his cell door rattled open moments later and one of Arbner's men entered, the door closing behind him. He smirked at Jance, walking over and grabbing him by the back of the jaw, "Hey Patchwork."

Something snapped in the back of Jance's mind, and he snarled angrily, lunging at the man. He'd caught him off guard and the man fell to the ground, Jance on top of him. A bony hand grabbed the throat of the man and began to squeeze.

Arbner's subordinate choked, struggling for air. He tried to pry Jance's fingers off of him, but his grip was stronger than he'd anticipated. He stared terrified into the animalistic eyes that seemed to be enjoying this so much. The last thing he ever saw was Jance's sadistic grin.

"Hey Dead-man," he snarled at the corpse.

Jance slipped away from the body, going back to his corner, his darker side's influence sliding away with his strength, and collapsed.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

Well, here we go. Kaen, Aaric, Valen, Ripp, Cayden and Jance belong to us. Knives are mine. Everyone and everything else belongs to Naughty Dog. Same old, same old.

* * *

Kaen sat in her office, staring blankly at the wall. It had been like this for a week and a half and now the time had come. It was over. The great Kaen was finished. By her own hand too, which was a bit of a surprise to herself.

She would have to use a knife; she'd decided that the day she had got home. The cut would be deep thanks to the calikite. In fact, she'd already done the deed and was sitting there, bleeding profusely. Exactly as planned. No one would be the wiser - no one.

Black consumed her vision.

--

Erol sat off on his own. Death was terribly strange. He'd come to the conclusion that he didn't like it. It wasn't that he missed living, the two states of being were oddly similar, no, it was Kaen... His heart ached for her.

Aaric, who had taken to watching the younger man all the time, suddenly perked up. "Oh," he said excitedly, "A newcomer!"

Erol glanced over at the sound of Aaric's voice; often the people who died were of very little interest to him.

Then the old man's eyes widened. "That stupid girl," he hissed. "If she wasn't already dead, I'd kill her!"

_That _caught the redhead's attention. Could Aaric really be talking about what he thought?

Kaen felt the familiar sensation of coming into death. The trip always left her breathless and in slight pain, but it got easier every time. But there would be no more times after this, she was dead for good.

Aaric buried his face in his hands. "That stupid, stupid girl!"

Erol shot to his feet, casting a glance at the other man, there was only one person he'd get this worked up over, wasn't there?

She looked around her, slightly disoriented. Well, all had gone as planned. Now it was time to find her boyfriend. Her search didn't take very long - he was standing only a few yards away with an old man. Aaric. But she had no time for her grandfather. None at all.

The old man in question glanced at his granddaughter and groaned. Why was his family always this stupid? _Why_?

Erol didn't get it. The woman who had appeared, had long red hair and pale blue eyes, He'd never seen her before in his life - well, death - it didn't matter. He had no idea who she was. Aaric's reaction now confused him, but he decided to just leave it. He turned away to go back to his solitude.

But Kaen had wasted no time getting to Erol. Just as he turned away she'd come close enough to hug him. Which she did quite promptly. It was warm and safe and it was Erol - nothing else mattered.

He stiffened immediately. This wasn't right! He twisted out of the mysterious woman's hold.

She didn't get it, didn't understand it at all. Until she saw the red hair. Hanging from_ her_ head. "AARIC!" she snarled, turning on the old man. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

"I always told you, you're a natural redhead Kaen."

"THEN MAKE ME UNNATURAL!"

He smiled evilly, "Nope. Bask in your original beauty child, bask in it."

She looked at her hair again. "DAMMIT!"

Her voice hadn't changed one bit and after recovering from the shock of seeing her, Erol grabbed her and pulled her close.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I look like a freak."

"No you don't," he said, kissing her forehead, "You're beautiful."

"I have red hair! No offense or anything."

"_Long_ red hair..."

"I've noticed. And you have short orange hair."

He smirked, "That's nothing new."

"I know." She smiled, "I missed you so much…"

"I missed you too."

She leaned her head against his chest. Warm and safe, it was all that mattered. Even if she did have long, red hair.

Erol held her close, everything was alright now.

Aaric just turned away, to give them privacy for the next two or three minutes. The second test was near.

"I was so scared, so scared when you blew up. I thought I was going to die of the pain I felt then and…after."

"Oh Kaen..." he began to tangle his fingers in her hair.

"But it's okay now, right?" She felt like crying.

"I think so..."

"Good. Very, very good." She kept thinking about the ring, still hanging from around her neck. That very day she'd taken a necklace chain and placed the ring on it. But she'd chosen not to mention it, unless he brought it up.

He briefly considered mentioning what he'd been planning to do after the race, but he decided against it. There was no point anymore, besides, she'd never know about it, unless...the ring had survived. But what were the odds of her finding it even if it had?

She couldn't contain her next words, however. They'd been on the tip of her tongue since she'd seen him. "I love you," she nearly whispered.

"I love you too." He replied, just as softly, kissing her delicately.

She kissed him back, suddenly very glad that they were in the land of eternity.

It felt strange to him somehow, as if he was about to lose her again. It was something he hoped he was wrong about. He tightened his arms around her. He _couldn't_ lose her again.

There was an odd jerk in her vision now. It had just randomly started, but it felt as if she was blurring two realities together. She only pulled Erol closer, praying what she thought was happening wasn't happening at all.

She seemed to flicker in his arms and he realized that he _was_ about to lose her. He wanted to pull her closer, make her stay. His throat seemed to close up on him and he couldn't speak.

"You have _got_ to be joking…"

She was fading. Life was returning; Erol slipped his arms from around her, throat still to tight to speak.

"Aaric, do something!" she cried, whirling around to face her ancestor.

"No, no, no. I can't meddle with fate. This is the second test and I can't take such an important thing from you two." The man's eyes glittered in a way similar to that of a grandfather's when he gave away sweets to his grandchildren.

"Aaric! I can't go back I can't do it! What the fu-" And abruptly she was gone, as if she had been a light that had been turned off.

--

Back in the realm of the living, Ripp was being the general irritation he'd been to Kaen for the past week and a half. He didn't care if she wanted to die, he wasn't about to let her get away with it.

Kaen felt life flood her body. When she awoke, she awoke in mid sentence, "-ck?"

"Welcome back." The gangster mocked, knowing he was probably going to get a slap across the face for it.

"Screw off." All her hopes had been crushed, squashed, mutilated beyond recognition. "Just get away from me and let me _die_!"

"No."

"I can't do it," she whispered, her heart now exploding into a billion pieces. "I just can't do it."

"Kaen," he put one hand on her shoulder and with the other he gently examined the necklace she'd made from the ring, "He wouldn't want you to do this for him."

"He didn't seem to complain while I was there."

"If it had clicked, I'm sure he wouldn't have been pleased."

"I don't care, I don't care. I can't live without him here! It sounds weak, and it is, but I cannot do it Ripp! I just can't!"

"Kaen, you have to. Thousands of people are relying on you."

She knew that he spoke truth, but she couldn't find the energy to care. "They survived this long without me, so who says they can't just take care of themselves?"

"Because the citizens of this city aren't half as self-reliant as we wish they were."

Truth, it was all truth. But everything was colorless without him with her. How could she rule without him there? How?

"I know how it seems right now, but you have to keep moving. Find something that can distract you, get some sort of rhythm back to your life. You _can_ move on."

But she barely heard his words, mainly because she wasn't listening but also because another's had replaced them. Aaric had said it was the second test. For them both. "I need to get to the library," she said as firmly as she could manage.

Ripp blinked in confusion, but helped her to her feet. He wasn't going to be far behind her. Now that she'd tried pulling this kind of stunt, he was going to watch her even closer.

There _had_ to be a book somewhere that explained these 'tests'. There _had_ to be. "I also need to see Valen and-or Cayden as soon as possible." She was sounding more and more like her usual self.

He nodded, pulling out his cell; he could get both of them quickly.

"And we need to get Jance. _Now_."

"Jance? Why?"

"Because," she sighed, "I owe him. I swore I'd get him out alive and I intend to. He needs help, serious help. What Arbner's men did…"

Ripp nodded, "Should I tell Cayden to get him and head over here?"

"Yes. As soon as possible."

Ripp dialed Cayden's number first. Making sure to keep Kaen in his sight as he did.

Well Aaric, she thought bitterly, let's see what you're up to.

--

It took Valen next to no time to get to the manor. She'd tried to commit suicide, it seemed so weird. Kaen was not the suicidal type, no unless under severe pressure. Like now. He sighed. Just find Ripp and try to keep her from kicking it again - that was all that was necessary.

He found the pair in the manor's extensive library. "You called?"

Kaen didn't even bother turning around, if she'd heard him at all. She was shifting through some piles of books; obviously hunting for something that she wasn't sure was even there.

Ripp gave the psychologist a nod of acknowledgment. "Hey Val."

"So she tried to kill herself?"

"Yeah, damn near succeeded too."

"She see Erol?"

Ripp nodded, "I'm assuming so. She said he wasn't complaining about seeing her there."

"I imagine not. Would you complain if you didn't see Leeta for over a week and then found her again?"

"No."

"Exactly - and he's dead too. They're drawn to each other in a way that's hard for me to understand. The border between life and death is flimsy for Kaen, she's crossed too many times, and I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of the commander. Do you know why she's looking through those books?"

"No clue. She just said that she needed to get to library, then she told me to call you and Cayden," he shrugged, "Oh, and she said we need Jance too. I've got no idea what she's doing."

Kaen had started on a new pile. "Obviously her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather dropped a hint."

"I guess..."

Cayden entered the room silently and suddenly. "What's she looking for?"

"No idea."

Finally Kaen looked at them. "I'm looking for a book of rules."

Valen blinked in surprise. "You want to look at some _rules_?"

"Yes, very specific rules. I just don't know where to find them."

"Miss Kaen, there is no reason for you looking for these rules. Who told you that rules were involved? What's this even about? I heard something about suicide, but it had to be a joke…"

"No joke." Ripp snapped. He _hated_ suicide with a passion.

"And how, pray tell, did she get away with this?"

"She's like a little kid, you leave her alone for a sec and next you know, she's dying."

"BUT YOU DIDN'T GET THERE IN TIME TO STOP HER! SHE COULD HAVE DIED!"

Ripp scowled, "She did die, for a minute or two. Most people wouldn't have been able to get her back." He crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"But she died! She saw him! That…that _boy_. Now she'll just keep wanting to go! Maybe you should have just left her!"

"And have you gut me for neglect?!"

"Yes! I'd be killing two birds with one stone!"

"What the hell do you mean by that?!"

Valen stopped Cayden from speaking. "We can talk about your family lives later. At the moment, we need to fetch Jance and help Miss Kaen find these rules of hers. And Ripp? Whatever Cayden says, it's mostly because he's terrified out of his mind. He nearly lost his charge - a hellish experience."

Cayden bowed his head, accepting the words as truth. "I'll go get Jance then." Keeping his head down, he left the room. There was a single tear on his cheek.

"Fine, whatever." Ripp turned to Kaen, "What kind of rules are you looking for anyway?"

"Aaric mentioned some tests that me and Erol had to complete. I have no idea what he means, but he's not the sort to completely leave me in the dark. So I'm seeing if I can find these tests and figure out how to beat them all."

The gangster nodded slowly. Why was nothing involving Kaen _ever_ simple?

Valen pointed to an old beat up journal sitting on the mantel above a fireplace, "Isn't that his old journal? Why don't you look there?"

She looked scandalized, "I can't touch that journal, that's one of the most important rules of my family! You don't touch Aaric's journal!"

"Even to find out the other rules?"

"Yes! I mean, it'd be worth it, but I don't know… We were told never to take it out of the case…"

Ripp looked at it. "I think it's worth it, if you're desperate enough to find out, but it's your choice..."

Valen just sighed and walked over to the mantel, "Why don't _I_ just take it out?" So he did, quickly removing the small, leather-bound book from its glass box. He brought it back and handed it to Kaen.

She took it tentatively. What, she wondered, would be inside?

--

Jance sat in the far corner of his cell, head on his knees. His wrists had become a shredded mess and he'd been forced to start going for his biceps as his release. Tear stains made trails down the grime on his face. His loss of control had only made everything harder and more frequent. He wanted to die.

Cayden strode purposefully over to the cell. Miss Kaen had ordered it and now he would complete it, as any decent bodyguard should. Even if it did seem pointless and stupid. "Jance? Jance?"

He looked up at the sound of his name and switched to a crouch, letting out a low growl. He could barely remember this man, but something suggested that he'd been hurt by him a few times previously.

"Get up, you're getting released."

He blinked, confused. "What?"

"Her ladyship's orders - you're to be released and returned to her. After her recent jaunt to the land of the dead, seems she wants you around."

Jance cocked his head to the side, trying to process the information, it seemed so foreign..."You mean Kaen?"

"Yeah, Miss Kaen. She wants to save your soul I think."

Jance bit his lip, looking at his hands, covered in scar tissue. "She's too late."

"She's never too late. In any case, you're _his_ brother so she'll care about you whether you like it or not."

He sighed and got shakily to his feet, needing to lean on the wall for support.

"I personally think I should just send one of my men in here to take care of you, but whatever."

Jance stiffened and stared, with an absolutely terror stricken expression.

"What? I can think of several who'd fit the bill right here and now. Not me, I don't want your blood on my hands, but anything to do with _him_ deserves ample punishment."

"Not again. I can't take it anymore."

Now Cayden was confused. "What? I haven't ever sent in my guys to deal with you. Kaen made sure that we'd leave you alone. What are you talking about?"

He shuddered, sinking to his knees. His voice shook as he spoke the word, "Arbner..."

"What he do this time?"

"His men...they'd..." he couldn't say it. Tears leaked from his eyes and Jance sank his teeth into his bicep.

"Oh." Why couldn't Kaen have warned him about this sort of thing? Oh, that's right, because she'd just recently _died_. "Come on kid, I'm not going to hurt you." He punched in the code to the cell. "Just come back with me and we'll see what we can do. I _will not_ hurt you; I don't think I'm even capable of that sort of sick thinking."

Jance stood again, removing his teeth from his now bloody arm. He felt slightly reassured by Cayden's words. As he walked unsteadily to the large man he asked, "What do you mean 'kid?' I'm older than you."

He shrugged, "I'm bigger, stronger and smarter than you. Plus, I think of everyone as kid. Except for the gardener at the conservatory, but he's a freak."

"I resent that 'smarter' comment."

"_I_ don't bite through my own arm. Now, let's go before someone notices."

Jance nodded.

--

"So," Aaric began conversationally, "Looks like my descendant was pulled into life."

"Yep..." Erol didn't know what to think; she'd _just_ been there and then was gone again...

"She's very pretty as a redhead, don't you think?" The old man was extremely pleased with himself.

"Very," Erol agreed. "Hey! She _died_!" The realization hit him hard.

"What? Of course she died! How else would she get here?"

"She killed herself! What the hell was she thinking?!"

"About you, I suspect. You know, you're rather stupid sometimes."

"Excuse me for being slow. I'm brain dead as well as physically dead."

"I know - my superior beauty and knowledge keeps you stunned. As for what she was thinking, she kept thinking, 'I love him and can't survive without him'."

"I am _not_ worth that."

"Really? She certainly thinks you are. Wouldn't you do the same if she died?"

"That's different. That's _her_. I'd die for her in a heartbeat. If I still had one."

Aaric chuckled, "You really are a gem. Why do you think she does not feel the exact same as you do for her?"

"I'm not saying she doesn't! I'm saying I'm not worth her life!"

"She'll be back you know."

"I don't really doubt it, but still...I'm not worth it. There are way better guys out there, ones that are alive, that she could choose..."

"But she _wants_ you Erol. No, not wants, _needs_ you. With every fiber of her being."

"Well, there's nothing I can do about that."

"You can accept it as fact and deal with it."

"It doesn't change a thing if I do."

The man's eyes twinkled, "I think you're wrong."

"How so?" Erol asked, whenever Aaric got that look in his eyes it was never a good sign.

"You can't honestly think this story is over! It's just begun! Your role is not over yet!"

"Um hello? I'm _dead_!"

"And she's alive! Exactly!"

Erol gave Aaric the blankest look he'd ever given anyone. "That gets nowhere."

"Don't give up young man. The only person in my family I've ever liked has been her and I'm not about to let her lose the only thing that makes her happy. But there are rules to follow."

"Such as...?"

"You'll see. And so will she. You can watch her read them out if you'd like."

Erol thought about it. "Fine. I will."

"Alright. Watch your step." Aaric grinned evilly and suddenly they were in a library.

Erol blinked, this was just _weird_. Then he saw her, "Kaen..."

Kaen was still staring at the book. "I don't think I should…"

Valen groaned, "Open it Kaen, it won't kill you. And if it does, won't that just make everything better?"

"Point, it'll save me from another suicide attempt." Her arms were still slightly blood covered.

Ripp poked her in the shoulder, "Just do it already. I'm interested now."

"Fine," she sighed and flipped to the first page. Then stopped completely. "What in all the world…"

Valen saw it and stared as well, "That's really creepy."

"What?"

"It's a…a…"

"Yes, a cartoon of a pig covered in bows and dots. Your point is?" Aaric snapped, actually sounding offended.

Erol stared at the man, barely containing his laughter.

"Just turn the page Kaen, please!" the psychologist pleaded.

She did, then just kept of turning. "What was his obsession with pigs, dots, bubbles and bows? It's taken up eighteen pages!"

"Care to explain?" Erol asked, struggling to keep a straight face.

"I like to keep people wondering. And they're very good pictures too."

"You had severe issues as a small child, didn't you?"

"No, I had a good childhood. You'd think the picture is nice if you saw it!"

"I'm not sure I want to..."

"Here, I'll make Kaen walk over here and you can see." As he said it, she began to pace around and stopped right in front of them. Clearly on the page was a pink pig with purple bows and green dots.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?!"

"Nothing at all - I was doodling. Now Kaen, you need to flip around thirty pages ahead."

She whipped around, "Who said that? Who said that?"

Erol glared at Aaric, "How come _you_ can communicate?"

"You can too."

"Oh..."

"You can try now if you'd like."

"Kaen just turn the goddamn pages."

"What?! Who's there?" She could have sworn Erol was talking to her.

"Kaen, who are you talking to?" Valen asked, concerned. Had she cracked?

"I could have sworn…" But no, he was dead.

Erol smirked, she was the only one, other than Aaric obviously; who could hear him. "Honestly sweetheart, I'm-" he couldn't say _dying_ to know what was in that journal, "The tension is driving me insane."

"Where are you? Is this some sort of joke? Please don't say I'm crazy…er."

"I don't think you are," unable to resist trying, he reached out and began to play with her hair, "You know, I can't decide if I prefer the black or red…"

"This isn't a joke, is it? And I say black is better – I'm no redhead."

Valen stared in horror, she'd gone insane!

Ripp had given up trying to understand the situation the moment he'd seen the pigs in the journal and had just tuned reality out.

Erol slipped his arms around Kaen, "Please turn the pages Kaen."

"This is _so _screwed up," she muttered, but she turned the pages anyway. And there it was, a list of tests or rules, it could be either, or both.

Aaric was pleased with himself, "See? See?"

Erol glanced at the page, "Your writing is hideous Aaric."

"I was dying!"

"It's nonsense, utter nonsense," Kaen said. "Two dead, life, rebirth, fools? It's unreadable!"

"Alright then, that makes _perfect_ sense."

"It actually tells of four tests, two for each lover. I wrote them for my family if any of them were smart enough to marry outside the line. Each must die for the other – selflessly and willingly. And each must choose to put the other before all else. You have passed nearly all the tests," Aaric spoke so that both could hear him.

"Hmm," Erol kissed Kaen on the cheek, "Well…That's good, right?"

"I supposed…How many more though?"

"One. Just one more."

"Great, though I don't think we'll actually manage to complete this."

"Why?"

Aaric looked suddenly at the door, horrified. "Never say never," he said mysteriously, then pulled himself and Erol back into heaven.

"What the hell was that for?" Erol demanded.

"There are some things you still cannot know. What came through that door is one of them."

--

Cayden entered the room with Jance, looking pleased with himself. "I got him." He noticed Kaen's expression, "You look as if you've seen a ghost!"

"I have," she whispered, "I have."


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter 27 Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Erol is Naughty Dog's. Aaric, Valen, Jance, Kaen, Ripp, Cayden and anyone else I didn't mention belong to us. Knives are mine.

On with the story.

* * *

Jance flicked his hand at Valen; the other man was too close for comfort, "Further."

Valen backed up ten paces, "Better?"

He nodded.

"So what do you want to talk about today?"

"I don't know…" Jance _never_ knew.

"We've been at this a week, there must be _something _on you mind. Anything!"

"Nope."

"How about the split personality again? Or shall we talk about food? Or the guards?"

"_Not_ the guards."

"Alright, we haven't talked them yet. Tell me what happened."

"No."

"Jance…" Valen said tiredly. "You need to deal with this. You'll never be comfortable around me until this is out there. I _know_ you're scared of me, but I'm not like them. Just get it off your chest."

"I…they…" his throat closed up on him. He couldn't speak.

"It's okay. Just let it out."

Jance's head dropped to his hands and he felt himself begin to sob. It had been _so_ horrid.

Valen just watched, sometimes the older man seemed like little more than a child. "What happened?"

He managed to mumble something into his palms.

"Lift your head."

Jance raised his head, ever so slightly and said quietly, "They raped me."

If it wouldn't have made him sound insensitive and cruel, Valen would've shouted in triumph. Progress. "How often? When? Why?"

His head went back to his palms, "Three times a day, at least. When they felt like it. Because they could."

"Oh god…" his stomach churned. How could any soul do such a thing? "Yet you kept yourself alive…"

Jance stared at his mutilated hands, "They took everything from me…"

"Do you want it back?"

"It's too late…"

"It's _never_ too late. Ever. Not for me or you or Kaen. None of us."

"But look!" He held up his right hand, tears coursing down his face.

"Your soul is your hands?"

"Yes…"

"Well that's interesting. Is this to do with your guitar?"

He nodded.

Valen started formulating a plan. "If you had a guitar, would it help?"

Jance shrugged.

"Would it give you back your soul?"

"I don't know..."

"Force yourself to know. Those guards control you even now, but only because you're letting them."

"I-" he broke off and thought about it, "It'd help, yes."

"I'll see what I can do. It'll all work out fine."

Jance looked at his hands again, would he even be able to play anymore? Arbner's men had attacked his hands the moment they'd found out it was a weak point.

"Worried you won't be able to play like you used to?"

He nodded, "Yeah..."

"Don't be. If I remember your guitar playing correctly, they'd need to _cut_ off your hands to keep you from playing well."

"Thanks." He closely inspected his right hand, the one he'd used for cording. Maybe the damage wasn't quite as bad as he'd thought.

"Cheer up. Do you want something to eat?"

"Not really..."

"Let me rephrase that, what would you like to eat?"

"Um...nothing?"

"Jance, just pick something to eat or I will stuff something down your throat by _force_."

"No."

"Why don't you want to eat?"

He shrugged. He'd continued trying to starve himself even after getting out. And he didn't even know why...

"You're abusing yourself. Personally, I don't want to think about what Kaen will do to us if you don't eat something. How about some steak?"

Jance's eyes brightened, "I could go for that..."

Valen pulled out his phone and quickly messaged the cook to bring a steak to the psych room. "There we are."

"Thanks..."

"Anything else you want to talk about before the food gets here? And no, the steak is not cooked."

"Anything else you're going to make me talk about?"

"We could continue about what went on with the guards. Especially Arbner's involvement."

Jance shuddered.

"What?"

"Stupid bastard..." he subconsciously rubbed the back of his head.

"He hit you?"

"Threw me against a wall, hit me, shot me, take your pick."

"Oh. But he never raped you?"

"I don't really remember if he did..."

"I think you'd remember if scum like that touched you."

"He sure as hell _touched_ me, but it just...it happened so often...I can't really differentiate."

"Well that's just great. How many of them did you kill? I know Kaen killed a few and, well, _ate_ one." He shuddered.

"One that I can remember...probably another two that I don't really..."

"So around five or six were killed in total?"

"Most likely."

"Did you do what Kaen did to any of them? You know…_ate_ them…"

"I...I seem to recall tearing a strip off of one of the guys...but I didn't really _eat_ him."

"Great," Valen muttered, "We've got two semi-cannibals in the house." Louder he said, "Well, I'm sure that tendency can be overcome."

"He wasn't dead when I did it..." Jance mumbled.

"That's really creepy. Okay, so you like eating living people."

"I wasn't in control at the time, and his hand was just right there..."

"Was he trying to molest you?"

Jance nodded. "And beat me."

"So you did best some of them?"

"Sometimes. Like the one I killed."

"I have a question, slightly off topic, but still a question."

"Yeah?" Jance asked warily.

"Not much to do with you, more with Kaen. The guy she killed… The one that she, you know… Why she'd kill him in the first place?"

"I don't know. I didn't really pay attention. Just pissed off I think."

"Oh. Just wondering if it was some grudge or something. And I…" He stopped when a waiter carrying a plate of defrosted steak stepped into the room, "Dinner time Jance."

The waiter put down the plate on a nearby table and exited, not saying a single word.

Jance was on the steak in an instant, happily gnawing on it. "You were saying...?" He asked, words garbled by the meat.

"I don't remember. You just enjoy that and I'll ponder what we spoke of."

Jance did, looking utterly content the entire time.

Valen sighed, "That's sort of gross."

"I don't mock what _you_ eat."

"_My_ food isn't crawling with bugs."

Jance shrugged and finished off the steak, licking the blood from his fingers.

"You done?"

He nodded.

"Good. How about we go through the music room and see what we can find for you?"

"Sure."

"One condition though: you have to keep talking to me everyday."

"Fine..." Jance sighed.

Valen got up and started for the door. "Come on, let's go."

Jance unfolded himself and followed, walking cautiously, but closer to Valen than he'd been previously.

Valen felt extremely proud of himself. By the end of the month, Jance would be cured and Cayden would be eighty bucks poorer.

--

Kaen sat silently in her office again, perfecting her plans one more time. Ripp would _not_ be able to stop her from dying this time around - it was a foolproof plan. And it was time to put it in action. "Hey Ripp? I forgot to take my pill this morning, so do you mind if I go do that quick?"

Ripp blinked, that didn't sound like her to forget. He shrugged, "Sure, go for it."

She smiled at him, "Thanks." Trying to act as normal as possible, she got out of her chair and left the room, heading straight for her rooms. The pills were in the bathroom. She hadn't lied to Ripp; she _was_ going to take a pill. Twenty-five of them to be precise.

It didn't take long for her to reach the bathroom, her office only being ten minutes away, and she was nearly shaking with excitement. Not only would she be gone, but she could get some revenge on Erol and Aaric for that stunt in the library. She locked the door behind her, walked to the counter and took out twenty-five pills from the bottle. If it didn't kill her, she was royally screwed.

"Here we go," she muttered and began to swallow them, one by one. The effects didn't take very long to set in and the moment they did, Kaen wished she hadn't chosen to overdose. Only one word could describe what dying by overdose felt like: agony. A long, drawn out agony. Five minutes after taking the first pill, her vision finally began to go black. The bliss of being dead was near at hand.

--

Ripp had stayed in her office for a few minutes after she'd left. Alarm bells were going off in his mind, it just wasn't right. He'd never known her to forget, not once. Another moment of hesitation. He pulled out his phone, heading out of the office, dialing Cayden's number; the bodyguard would want to know about this...

--

Aaric sat underneath a tree, glaring hatefully at the same spot. He'd been doing so for hours and hours, muttering under his breath every few minutes. His muttering was becoming louder and more frequent, turning into a slightly audible, "Unbelievable."

"You're talking to dead air, old man." Erol said, he'd taken to following Aaric around recently. It was strangely fun.

"Not for long. I'm giving it about ten seconds and that dead air is going to be filled."

"But it's still going to be dead..."

"Oh, ha ha ha. I can do without your comments. They're just immature. And here she is! I'm going to _murder_ her!"

Kaen staggered forward a few steps, trying to get her footing again. Pain, so much pain. She hoped she'd never have to kill herself again.

"Kaen!" Erol could recognize her, even if she _did_ have red hair, blue eyes, and was currently upside down. "What the hell are you doing here again?!"

"Well, hell didn't have much of a draw and I'm here for revenge. Mostly on you, so I'd appreciate if you'd come over here."

"Um... Do I really want to?" He was rather content to be in the tree, upside down...at a distance.

"Yes, if you ever want to speak to me again."

He sighed, "Fine." He sat up and hopped out of the tree. Then everything spun for a moment.

Aaric glared at the pair, how hopeless could you get?

Erol walked over, glad he'd reoriented so quickly, "What in the world do you need to take revenge on me for?"

She slapped him. "The library scene."

He smirked at her.

"They think I'm nuts! And all because of you!" Then, because she realized there'd be no real lasting effects, she slapped him again.

"Sorry sweetheart, couldn't resist."

"I _noticed_."

He looked at her, hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"What? What?"

She was flickering again, someone was reviving her _again_. He didn't know what to say.

"Please tell me I'm not fading. _Please_." It was much more serious this time if she came back and she knew it. "Aaric! Do something!"

"No can do dearie - you _chose_ to use your pills to overdose. I'm dead, your being an uncontrolled monster for the rest of your life doesn't concern me."

Erol grabbed her shoulders, feeling them start to disappear beneath his hands, "YOU IDIOT!"

"I can't go back…" Why had she chosen her meds? Why not painkillers or something? She felt life pulling her even more eagerly back. "I…"

"You idiot..." She was fading fast, leaving him alone again.

"I'm so sorry Erol. I'm so sorry." Her eyes filled with tears and she disappeared once again.

"Well, that went well," Aaric announced the moment she was gone. He got up and brushed off his pants, "Don't you agree?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Oh? And why not?"

"Her meds are going to be useless now..._and_ she's alive again."

"Indeed, meaning everything worked out perfectly. And there's no point in missing her."

"She'll be back, won't she?" Erol asked grimly.

"Within the week I suspect. And then that'll be it I suppose. You can wait that long I hope?"

"She shouldn't be doing this."

"She needs to do this. And so do you, it'll be important one day. If she didn't keep dying, you'd never have learned how to return to each other, am I right?"

"I don't get it. I'm dead. Blown up. There's no way I can really do anything here."

The old man chuckled, "You are a gem. This is the land of the dead - anything can happen and lots of it will. Now, I'm going to go get some apples from the orchards. Are you coming or do you want to mope around because she's left you alone again?"

"I'll come, as long as you stop calling me a gem, it's weird."

"It's better than 'sweetheart'."

Erol cringed. "If you ever..." he let the threat hang, he couldn't really do anything.

"I was talking about you sweet talking my granddaughter. _Sweetheart_. Honestly. Now, let's go!"

Erol snickered and followed Aaric; he couldn't care less about what the man thought of his pet name for Kaen.

--

Kaen woke up in the bathroom, wishing she was still dead for more than one reason. "What's going on?" she asked, but her words were extremely slurred.

"You overdosed." Ripp snapped.

"I'm aware. More like, why did you revive me?"

"Same reasons as last time."

"You're trying to ruin my death?"

"Sure, that works."

"It hurts."

"I bet." He hoped she wouldn't move too much, after figuring out the cause, he'd gone to a slightly extreme measure to bring her back.

"How'd you revive me this time?"

"Um...You don't really want the answer to that."

"Tell me Ripp," she growled.

"You'll figure it out soon enough..."

"TELL ME!"

He raised a hand to the back of his neck, trying to find a good phrasing. "Um...Manual evacuation of your stomach?"

"YOU SLIT ME OPEN?!"

"Something like that."

"No wonder I'm in agony…"

"Most of that's the effects of the overdose."

"Why won't you just let me die?" Most of her wanted to curl up into a tiny ball, but that'd only make it worse.

"Because you're needed _here_."

"But the person _I_ need is _there_."

"Needs of the many..." Ripp muttered.

"What'd you say"?!

"Needs of the many? Never heard that one? Needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"I know that - I'm just offended. AND THIS CITY DOESN'T NEED ME."

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it'll be reality someday."

She closed her eyes. "I'll be dead again within the week."

Ripp smirked, "We all know what I'm going to be doing then..." He shifted and picked her up off the floor.

"I'm going to sleep now."

"Good."

And so she did, nearly instantly. She knew what her being brought back would mean in the future - disaster. Aaric, no matter what he said, wouldn't actually want disaster in his city, which meant he was plotting again. But plotting what?

--

The plotting became evident yet _another_ week later, when Aaric decided he was bored and felt like having some fun. A lot of fun, actually. But it would be harmless…at least _his_ role…

"Hey Erol?" he said one sunny morning. "Do you want to go wreck havoc in your friends' lives?"

"Um...what kind of havoc?"

"Well, Kaen's having a meeting right now and I think it'd be fun to…_spice_ it up a little."

Erol smirked, "Sounds fun."

"Shall we go down? It might be your last chance to see Kaen, she's decided to not try suicide again."

"Oh..." Erol didn't know what to say to _that_. "Sure. Why not?"

"Right. Here we go" Aaric couldn't help but grin - this would be extremely fun.

--

Kaen sat at the head of the boardroom table. It was a quick heads-up on the weeks and months to come. After her last suicide attempt, she had decided to stop her childish actions and move on in life - surprisingly, it was working. She hadn't thought about Erol since the incident, except when she played with the ring still hanging from her neck.

"Well, here we are," Aaric said, landing himself and Erol in the conference room. Ripp, Valen, Cayden and Kaen all sat around a long table, discussing matters of state. Boring. Too boring.

Erol glanced around at them all; feeling the temptation to pester Cayden hit an overwhelming amount.

"Go have fun. They're being boring."

"I hadn't noticed..." Erol muttered, already walking towards the large man. He leaned on him. "So...how's life?"

"Who's there?" Cayden snarled, whirling around in his chair, which was of those spinny types. "Show yourself!"

"I'm hurt, you've spent so much time loathing me, but you can't identify my voice, honestly Cayden..."

"Who's there?! I swear, if this is some kind of sick joke, I will snap your back in half!"

"I'd like to see you try." Erol smirked, it was amusing; there was no consequence to him for doing this.

Cayden, who was having trouble grasping the whole thing, tried to punch the area where the voice was coming from. "If you do not show yourself, I will have to kill you! And whoever you are, you're really good! But obviously you haven't done your homework - the boy is dead!"

Erol laughed, "I'm aware I'm dead. I'd have to be woefully unobservant if I wasn't." He reached out and poked Cayden in the shoulder.

He drew his gun. "Where the hell are you?!"

Kaen, who was sitting to her bodyguard's left, put a hand on his arm. "Sit down Cayden - no one's there. They aren't a threat to me or anyone else, mostly because they seem too spineless to show themselves."

He did so, reluctantly it's true, but he did. "Sorry Miss."

Erol focused on Kaen instead, slipping an arm around her shoulders, "It's not Cayden's fault he's easy to mess with," he whispered softly.

She tensed. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

"Same thing as that library incident. It's nice to see you again sweetheart."

"Erol?" Her heart did a weird flip, like always. So even after all her disconnecting, she was _still_ going insane.

"The one and only."

"How are you here? You're dead."

"Aaric was bored, he let me come down here to bother you."

"Oh. Is he here too?"

"Yep."

"What direction is he in? I want to flip him off, since I assume he can see me." She sounded absolutely nuts.

Erol laughed, and said, "He's behind Ripp."

"Sorry Ripp, but this isn't directed at you." Kaen flipped her ancestor off, feeling better even as she did so. Aaric just smiled happily in her direction. "I can feel his smugness from here."

Ripp blinked, "I am _so_ confused now."

"If I'm not mistaken, we're being visited by two ghosts right now - my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather and Erol."

Valen started laughing hysterically for no particularly good reason, except to laugh hysterically.

"So the boy can't even resist you _after_ he's dead, he has to come back to continue to make you miserable?!" Cayden snapped.

"Sheesh, you're awfully touchy aren't you? It's not like I can _do_ anything."

Aaric snickered, "Not true. Dear old Cayden, his family still amazes me."

Erol shrugged it off, bringing his attention back to Kaen. He found the chain around her neck, "What in the world do you have here?"

"Ummm," she suddenly became very nervous. "Nothing?"

He wasn't convinced; his hand snaked around to find the front of it, coming dangerously close to Kaen's chest region.

"HEY! Careful where those hands are going!"

Cayden stood up, drawing his weapon again. "Hands off!"

Erol ignored him, he'd found what was hanging on the chain, "Oh god..."

She froze, knowing exactly what he'd found. What could she say?

It couldn't be. It _couldn't_. How could she have found it? He bit his lip, feeling an indescribable pain in his heart. He'd tried to forget about what he'd been planning, hoping it'd ease the pain. And now...

Aaric just watched with a satisfied smile. Oh tearing this apart would be fun. But not yet, not quite yet.

"I'm sorry…"

He abruptly let go as though burned and he pulled away from her, trying to regain his composure and control.

Valen just looked offended. "Well it's your own fault you know."

"Get bent Valen!" Erol snapped.

"What'd he say Kaen?"

Her voice was shaking slightly, "That you should get bent."

"Back at you!"

"Queer..." the redhead muttered hatefully at him.

"Just leave each other be!" Kaen snapped, her heart now going through a small shattering process.

Erol said nothing, pain overwhelming him. Even if Val hadn't heard him, he still couldn't believe he'd said it. He looked back at Kaen, he couldn't stand it.

She turned around to look where she imagined Erol to be - the general direction at least. "I am so, so sorry."

"I'm the one who died..."

"But I should have, I don't know if _asked_ is the right word, but I should have checked if it was okay to wear it!"

"Whatever..."

"Are you ready to go home now Erol?" Aaric asked, his voice just a tad bit cold. Even _he_ was a little offended by the younger man's behavior. "Or do you want to patch up what you've just caused?"

Erol sighed, "Sorry..."

Kaen just turned around, trying to stop her heart from exploding. What she wanted right now was for him to hold her, to tell her it was alright, _anything_. But he wouldn't and she knew it.

Valen didn't do anything - he couldn't hear either man.

"Tell Val I said sorry would you?" Erol asked. He wanted to pull Kaen into his arms, but couldn't bring himself to. He turned to Aaric, "Let's go."

The old man was still slightly disgusted but he took them away anyway. At least the wound was open and painful - it would make the next part so much easier. Neither of them would ever forget what was going to come; never forget what was going to happen. But first it had to happen - and the time was nearly ripe. Soon his plan would be complete. Except, now he wasn't sure if Erol could do it.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

Righty then. Here we go. Aaric, Kaen, Jance, Karn, Cyri and Arbner all belong to us. Knives are mine. Everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.

That's that. On with the show!

* * *

Four months had passed since the incident in the boardroom and Aaric had had quite enough. He'd decided to send Erol back, but not quite as he'd originally planned. No, he'd volunteered him for a job that he thought would fit the man nicely. Of course, he'd only be going back partially humanoid and probably extremely insane, but it'd be worth it. Oh, it'd be worth it.

Erol had found himself trusting Aaric less, which was saying something as he'd never really trusted the man in the first place. He was up to something and Erol had no idea what.

It was nearly midnight when Aaric approached Erol. It was time. "Hey, boy?"

"What?"

"I have a question for you?"

"Okay, shoot."

"Are you ready to return to life?"

"Are you serious?"

"In matters such as this? Yes, yes I am. Do you want to go back?"

"Sure. What's the catch?"

He smiled, "Nothing. You get to go back in a perfectly healthy body, with your mind intact. You'll even show up nearby Kaen's, if that makes you feel better."

"I don't believe you..."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"Because you're a scheming git."

"I am, this is true, but I did promise I'd send you back. Unless you no longer desire to be with my granddaughter in any way. And believe me; I'll be able to tell if you're lying to save your skin."

"I still love Kaen, and I'd do anything to be with her."

"Funny how I still have trouble believing you after that conference room incident… Oh well, so you want to go back?"

"Yes."

The old man's smiled widened, giving him the distinct impression that he wanted to suck Erol's blood from his veins. "Then I'll see you later." He turned away.

Erol shuddered, muttering, "What the hell have I just agreed to?" to himself.

As he walked away, Aaric wondered how Erol would like being a cyborg.

--

Kaen stood by the front door of her manor, staring at the ceiling. She was going to the wasteland, a trip she'd been planning for months for two reasons. The first was because she'd recently discovered she had another brother that had survived the massacre who lived out there and because she was back to business. Damas lived out there - she still needed to purchase his point five percent.

Jance came down to the entranceway, "Where're you going?" he asked.

"Wasteland. Wanna come?"

"Sure." He grinned.

"Go grab your crap then. We're leaving in two minutes."

Jance stood there and blinked at her. "I'm already good to go."

"Where's your stuff?"

"Who needs stuff?"

"Not even your guitar? We might be out there for a while. Meaning weeks."

"Hmm..." He glanced back. "Just a sec..."

"Yep." Kaen couldn't help but smile, Jance would make her trip easier to bear. Usually she'd have invited Valen or Cayden, but she needed a break from the pair. It was time for some more private time.

He came back with his guitar on his back, "Now I'm actually ready."

"Let's go then. It'll be fun."

"Yeah." He grinned again. His spirits had brightened considerably over the past few months.

"You seem happier than usual. Valen pronounced you cured yet?"

Jance pulled a face, "No."

"That's cool - he hasn't pronounced me cured yet either."

"Two freaks off for a wasteland vacation. Man, this sounds like a bad idea all of a sudden."

"It's not a vacation - it's a business deal that may involve a couple of slit throats. It'll be fun!"

"Like I said: vacation."

"There won't be relaxation time, unless you want to split up.

"Nah, I wasn't expecting much time. But it's a break from routine at the least. No more counseling or force feedings for a while."

"Plenty of living flesh for you to eat."

Jance smirked evilly.

"Oh, here's our transport. Let's ditch."

"Sweet." Jance adjusted the guitar so it rested better between his shoulder blades and walked with Kaen to the transport.

"Well, we're here. I guess it's time to blackmail, huh?" Kaen said when they arrived.

"Yep. Guess so." Jance agreed, slinging his guitar back over his shoulders. He'd taken it off during the trip.

"Will you rip out some throats if need be?"

His eyes regained their animalistic look, "Sure thing, when?"

"When we're nearby anyone who bugs me. There's more than one royal family in this place now."

He nodded, "Alright."

"Now… You know your way around?"

He glanced around, "Not really, no."

"Can you signal someone to show us the way?"

"Where are we going again? Just, you know, so I can get a good idea of what I'm asking."

"To see the king. And possibly kill him, but don't say that part."

"Right." Jance's eyes drifted over the scenery, he spied a boy in his early teens and before the kid knew what had hit him, Jance had grabbed him. "We're interested in speaking to Damas; _you_ are going to take us to him." Manners were overrated.

"Who the hell are you?" The boy demanded.

"That's irrelevant," the scarred man replied. "You do this and I don't kill you on the spot, deal?"

"Sure, whatever." The boy glanced at Kaen, "She's the other part of your 'we'?"

Jance nodded and dragged the boy over to where Kaen stood. "Look, I caught us a guide."

"I'd noticed. Let's go then – I haven't had the chance to threaten in ages.

The boy blinked, "Yeah, whatever. I need to make a quick stop at my house first, it's on the way. I should probably tell my mother I love her before this guy," he jerked his thumb at Jance, "Decides to rip me apart."

"Jance won't hurt you unless I tell him to. I don't your going there though, as long as you realize we're coming too. And what's your name?"

"Karn. Come on," He turned and began to walk away.

She followed him, not really thinking about where she was going. Karn, huh? So her little brother _was_ still alive.

Karn led them to a small house and he opened the door, "I'll be right back."

"No. I think I'm coming with you. I need to speak to your mother."

"Umm…" he looked confused, "Alright then…What about you?" he asked Jance.

"Wherever she goes, I go."

"What are you? Her boyfriend or something?"

Jance hissed at him.

Karn edged away, "Alright, come on." He walked into the house, "I'm back!" he shouted.

A woman came into the entranceway, "Hi honey, what are-" she stared at Kaen, "Karn, go to your room. I need to talk with her."

Karn gave both women a 'what the hell' look.

"You look an awful lot like my mother, Auntie dearest."

"I'm aware," she said, "Karn _now_." She pointed to the stairs, but he didn't move.

"You're my _cousin_?" he asked, voice mixed between shock and horror.

"I'm your sister actually."

"What?!" he stared at his mother, "How does that work?"

"We'll talk later, go to your room."

"Your mother is not your mother, she's your aunt."

"I'm adopted?"

"Indeed. See, you escaped the massacre, but I didn't know it. Until recently that is, which is one of the reasons I'm here."

The woman stepped in front of Karn, "You wouldn't dare…"

"I don't want to kill him – I'm not that nuts. I just wanted to meet him."

She seemed to relax slightly and moved away from the teen again, "Well now you've met him."

"And you. Now, Karn, you mind taking us to see the king?"

"Um, right…" he looked at his mother, "I'm their guide for the moment, just thought I'd let you know."

"Alright, go on."

"By Mom." He walked away and back out the door.

"Jance? You coming?"

"Yep," he nodded and followed.

"What's your aunt's name again Karn?" Kaen asked.

Karn looked at her, "As far as I'm concerned, she's still my mother and her name's Cyri."

"She's your aunt, get used to it. You being the heir to the throne…"

He stopped dead, "Me being _what_?!"

"Keep walking. You're heir to the _true_ throne – mine."

"What?!" I'm not royalty!"

"Yes you are, more than Damas can ever hope to be. Fools think thy have power – they're just deluded by false control. Our family rules both Earth and Heaven."

"Right…" he began walking again.

Jance fell into step next to Kaen, "Are you trying to overwhelm him?"

"Yes," she smirked, "It's fun."

"Alright, fair enough."

"How far are we?"

Karn looked over his shoulder, "Five to ten minutes."

"Can we step it up?"

"What's the rush?"

She shrugged, "I have no patience."

"Oh."

Jance said nothing, pulling a guitar pick out of his pocket and he began to flip it between his fingers.

Kaen slid the ring out of her pocket – its new home – and held it in her palm. Even if he didn't care anymore, she did and having something of his nearby was a comfort.

"You can put it back on the chain. He won't care if you do."

"It seems wrong; it's not as if he would propose now."

Jance shrugged, "Well, don't lose it. He'd be hurt if you did."

"He wouldn't give a damn. You weren't in the boardroom."

"I wasn't, but I still know him, even if the last time I spoke with him was seven years ago. From what you've said, he was just shocked, beyond all belief."

"Just drop it Jance. He doesn't give a damn about me anymore!"

He sighed, "Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll believe it one day."

"Ask him next time you see him and you'll see that I'm right. I kept falling for it, for the sweet words and trickery. I'm a fool."  
"I'm telling you, he _still_ loves you."

"You can't still love someone you when you never did in the first place."

Jance grabbed her hand that held the right, "_This _shows that he loved you. He was willing to commit and how you can suggest that he never loved you is beyond me." His voice was low.

She pulled the hand away, "Mark my words, next time we meet, you will hear how he doesn't love me from his own mouth."

"_Maybe_ I'll believe it if he does."

Another one of those weird feelings came over Kaen, making her shiver. Maybe, she hoped, this time the feelings of abandonment and loss would be a lie.

"Are you two coming or what?" Karn asked, he'd managed to get well ahead of them and was now waiting impatiently for them to catch up.

"Of course," Kaen began walking faster, "We will speak no more of this," she said warningly to Jance.

He snorted, putting the pick away. As if.

"I thought that you were in a rush and now you're lagging. Jeez!"

"We had a quick matter to discuss. How far now?"

The boy pointed to a building, "About twenty feet."

"Very well. It's time to speak with a would-be king."

"Can I go now?"

"If you desire. I may visit you again. I may not. Never mention of this meeting."

He shrugged, "Alright, fine. See ya, maybe."

Jance looked at Kaen, "And what do I do at the moment?"

"Come on with me, if you'd please."

"Alright. After you."

"No, _before_ me. It'll explain your presence. Don't announce me or something odd, just check it out."

"Very well," he began to head towards the building Karn had indicated.

She followed, trying to get into character. It was time to become a queen.

Jance walked casually inside, for a king living here; there was certainly very little security…

"I should start buying land out here…even if it is _too_ dry…"

Jance laughed at the comment before figuring out the way up to the throne room.

"It's true! I do need a new hobby."

He laughed again, "You want weird hobbies."

"Not my fault! You'd rather I start carving you up again?"

"If you wanted to. I've been through worse. Though I don't think Val would approve."

"I was joking Jance."

"Still, if you ever want to…"

"After this chore I suppose."

He smirked, "I think this is it."

"Let's go in then. We can see if he remembers me. If not, I pity him."

Jance walked into the throne room without another word.

She followed, squeezing the ring once more. Blood would be spilled.

Damas looked up as they entered; he seemed confused for a few moments as he looked at Jance, "Who are you?"

"This is Jance – he's my…charge." Kaen entered with a smirk on her face. There was no doubt she thought herself more important than this king.

"You!" Damas got to his feet, "Why are you here?"

"To speak to you, why else? Matters of business drove me to the desert."

"Must be important business for you to come here."

"Obviously," she rolled her eyes, "I have a deal for you."

"Alright, I'm listening." He glanced at Jance, "Is he necessary?"

"He stays," she said firmly, "And now, to business. It's a matter of your land."

"My land? Be more specific."

"Your point five percent – I wish to buy it."

Damas laughed, "My Haven land? You came all the way out here for _that_?"

"I was bored. Plus my bank account is lacking."

"How much?"

"That land could bring me billions, I only own ninety-nine percent."

"How much will you give me for it?"

"Name the price."

"Fifteen million."

"That was easy, I was hoping for some slit throats."

"So was I…" Jance muttered, he'd taken a pick out again and resumed his flipping.

"Anything else?" Damas asked, looking at Kaen.

"What's the drug trade around here like?"

"Practically non-existent."

"Well that's good – I have new markets. I expect the contract in the mail within the week. Your money will come after." She turned away, "Come Jance, let's go now."

He nodded, "Now what?"

"We can hang here or go home, your choice."

He shrugged, "You said we were going to be here for a while."

"Drugs are nice to work with." She left the room, not even bothering to say 'thank you' or 'good bye.' "And I think that's the most pathetic excuse for a king I've seen."

"He wasn't bad when he was running Haven."

"True, he did let me live, but he's gone soft." She shook her head in dismay, "I'll have to take this city as soon as possible."

"You little control freak."  
"You know you love me," she teased, "I will rule with an iron fist."

He briefly contemplated using the opening to mention Erol again but decided against it. He grinned, "You're like the little sister you stole me from."

"You'll see her again."

"Yeah, I know. One day."

She patted his arm, "It's no big deal. C'mon, let's go find a place to sleep."

"What about your aunt's place?"

"Hell no, I hate them both. I'd rather sleep on the street than in their house."

"Just a suggestion. You haven't even known your brother for an hour yet."

"I hate him out of principle. Now, let's go find a place to sleep."

"Agreed."

--

It was dark out, Erol had been surprised the first time it had happened, but it no longer surprised him. Alone. Ever since Aaric had spoken to him, he had seen no one.

A sharp pain in his right hand made him cry out and he stared at it. His eyes widened as his hand seemed to dissolve.

A tearing sensation suddenly filled the left side of his face and he doubled over in agony, cradling his head in his remaining hand. Something was wrong. It became more apparent as he felt his flesh fading beneath his hand.

He wanted to scream but couldn't. His surroundings flickered in and out of focus before they disappeared.

"Welcome back to the world of the living."

"What the hell…?" the voice sounded familiar, but his didn't, there was the electronic ring of a voice synthesizer to it. Something was _very_ wrong.

"Do you like your new body? I truly hope you do."

New body? Why couldn't he feel anything?

"Look down you idiot. Move your hands. Take a good long look."

He did. The ground seemed further away than he could ever recall it being. There was an electronic humming and whirring as he moved. After a few more seconds it clicked. He stared at his mismatched hands. "Cybernetics?"

"I think you're a gorgeous, insane work of art. Oh is revenge _sweet_!"

He still recognized and the name hit him abruptly, "Arbner?!"

"Of course, who else. First I kill you, then I bring you back. Sweet."

He flexed his hands, "You've never-" he cut off suddenly, he could hear voices. He looked around for the source but didn't find one.

"I've never what? Killed you? Who do you think cut your brakes?"

He wasn't even listening, the voices were intensifying, but he couldn't make out the words. "Shut them up."

"What?"

"Shut them up!"

"No, my dear cyborg. They're just something to adjust to."

He grabbed Arbner's throat with his left hand and slammed him against the wall. "Shut them up _now_!"

"Kill me if you like – Aaric will just send me back. You see, I may still be necessary."

He wanted to squeeze _so_ badly. The only reason he didn't was because he couldn't feel it. Wouldn't be able to feel Arbner's life leave him. He let go reluctantly. "What the hell did you bring me back for?"  
"This and that. I was hoping you'd do something like destroy the planet."

"If I destroy the planet, you go with it."

"At least I'll have my revenge. Mostly it's about destroying what that little bitch built, but there's other things too."

He felt a smirk tug at his lips. "Other things like what?"

"Your choice."

"Perfect…"

Arbner smiled. He had broken him at last…sort of. But it was good enough.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

Alright, here we are again. Erol (or I guess Errol here) and Torn belong to Naughty Dog. Knives are mine. Kaen, Jance, Ripp, Arbner, Valen and any other mentioned OCs belong to us.

Onwards!

* * *

In the weeks following his revival – activation – Cyber Errol had come to accept the voices, even listen to them. Recently he'd even learned how to communicate back.

His campaign started in Haven as he unleashed an army of KG battle bots upon the recently established Freedom League. He watched with a smirk as parts of Haven fell to him and his army. He felt proud as the voiced commended him on a job well done. But he wasn't done yet…. First Haven, then the world.

On the other hand, Kaen was far from pleased about the turn of events. Whoever it was who was ruining her city was going to die a slow, painful death. The problem had begun not long after she and Jance had returned to Haven and now it was getting out of hand. So she'd decided to go to Torn that warm spring day to bitch at him.

The commander was, understandably, _not_ pleased to see her.

"Hello Torn," she said as politely as she could manage, "I have a problem to discuss."

"That's great. Tell someone who gives a damn."

"That's not fun. Anyway…this city is _your_ problem too. It's absolute chaos!"

"I hadn't noticed," he snarled irritably.

"Well what are you doing about it? Have you caught who's responsible?!"

"Someone's reactivated the old KG factories."

"But who's responsible? And what have you done about it?"

"No clue. And at the moment not much. We've been trying to keep the rest of the city together."

"I want that person caught! I need to gut them!"

"Be my guest."

"You have to find them first!"

"I've got people on it!"

"Obviously not enough! Seriously Torn, I need results! God, sometimes I wish Erol was still commander!"

"Hang on, we might have something. There's an incoming transmission…"

Kaen turned away, about ready to punch someone in the mouth.

"Torn," Ripp's voice crackled over the intercom, "We might have a lead, there's a-" the transmission cut off abruptly.

The crime lady started pacing, wondering what to do. She took the ring out of her pocket and held it tight, like every time she was stressed out.

"Dammit!" Torn swore, "Someone's jamming the signal!"

Static crackled again as metallic, sadistic laughter came through the intercom.

"Torn? Is that you laughing or have I lost it?" still she did not turn.

"Neither…" he scowled.

"Stressed out Torn? You deserve it, resisting my forces. Just give up on the League!"

"What the hell…" Kaen turned towards the speaker, "You sound familiar." It sounded like…but it couldn't be

"Kaen?" there was genuine confusion in the voice.

"Who-"

Torn blinked, "You've got to be shitting me…"

Kaen squeezed the ring again. "E-e-e-" she couldn't speak.

The Freedom League commander considered cutting them off there, but couldn't seem to bring himself to break it off just yet.

"Kaen?" the voice asked again.

"Yeah?" her voice was soft and full of longing, "Unfortunately for the world." Her heart had gone back to exploding into tiny pieces. It couldn't be…

"Oh god..." the tone of the voice became anguished, "I'm sorry..." and the transmission cut off.

"Well..." Torn began, "I guess that solves _that_ mystery. Now we have to figure out where he is and how the hell he came back."

"How? My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather brought him back. But I don't have the foggiest to where he is. Don't you have trackers for that sort of thing?"

"I'll see if I can trace the signal, but don't count on anything..."

"Just do it Torn!" Her heart was bleeding everywhere; she could see it on her arms. What had Aaric done to him?

"Hey! I'm trying!"

"JUST DO IT!"

He let out a growl of irritation, fingers typing in sequences at an amazing speed. "Got it. Here." He brought the coordinates up on screen. "I should've known..."

"What?"

"He's at the old KG war factory. We've been trying to shut that down for weeks, no wonder it's been so hard."

She managed a small smile. "Well, I suppose I should do something about it, shouldn't I?"

"Go for it."

She turned away from him and headed for the door. "Thanks Torn - glad to see you're not completely useless."

"Yeah, whatever."

Kaen headed straight back home - she needed to pick up two things: Jance and, for reasons she refused to admit to herself, a gun.

"Jance!" she called the moment she was through the front door. "Jance!" To a random servant she requested a gun, an order they immediately obeyed.

Jance came bolting down the stairs to the entrance way. "You called?"

The servant arrived with the weapon, which Kaen gratefully took. "We're going to go kill someone."

An animalistic look overtook his features, "Who's the unlucky bastard?"

"Your brother. Now, come on. This won't be pleasant."

He followed her, the words barely registering in his mind. His tongue flicked over his lips in anticipation of the kill...

Since she had no idea where she was going, she simply told her driver the vague place and told him to get there as soon as possible. Needless to say, it didn't take them long to arrive.

Cyber Errol hadn't missed the signs that people were approaching his stronghold. The voices in his head told him that they were a threat to his operations. They had to be neutralized. He'd have no choice but to obey.

"You do realize this is your brother we're going after, right?"

Jance smirked, "I'm aware. But if he's really behind all of this... He deserves it."

"Then let's go in." She slipped the ring into her pocket.

Jance went first, his expression cold and merciless. He didn't want to believe that it really was Erol; he couldn't, but if it was...The thought normally would have made his stomach churn, but not now, not while his animal side was in control...

Kaen walked in, her head down and heart pounding. At least she'd have Jance with her…

"Holy..." Jance trailed off, staring up at the thing that had its back to them. He was briefly shaken from his primitive state of being as the cyborg turned.

It was them, the intruders. The voices screamed at him to destroy them, but something stayed Cyber Errol's hand.

"Erol?!" Jance cried, unable to believe what his brother had become.

Kaen said nothing, mostly because she knew if she opened her mouth she'd vomit.

The cyborg cast a quick glance over the two of them. They were irrelevant; all that mattered was his successful domination.

"Hello Erol."

The voice was so familiar, both of them were, and, against the will of the voices in his head, he did nothing. One was an old voice, from long before, but the other, seemed so recent, he couldn't have heard it more than a couple hours earlier. Just like it had upon his activation the name dawned on him without warning. "Kaen..." his metallic voice resonated around the room with a tone caught somewhere between shame and horror.

She bit her lip, trying to hold back the puke rising in her throat. Why was she even there? What had possessed her to come? Why?

Jance put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. His dark eyes fixed on the monstrosity before them. Anger flickered across his face. He wasn't even remembered.

She smiled at Jance, thankful that it was him beside her. "Yes, you are completely correct."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Errol asked, utterly confused, "And who's he?"

"I'm here to kill you and this is your brother."

"Jance...?" What was going on?

"Took you long enough!" The older man snapped, rage had replaced any other feelings. He was hurt. Hurt and damn near ready to rip apart those shiny cybernetic limbs.

Kaen backed away, now beginning to know exactly what was about to happen. It was why she'd brought the gun in the first place.

"Where were you?" the cyborg asked, his attention all on the scarred man.

Jance smirked; time to ruin their lives, both of them.

Kaen simply turned away, wondering what would happen next.

Jance's smirk grew as his animal side's control reached an absolute hold. He jerked a hand at Kaen, "I'm sure _she's_ got _plenty _of answers for you!"

"What do you mean?"

"She's the one who got her agents to throw me in a cell. And all because she blackmailed me into confessing that I was part of the Underground!" His voice was sharp and hateful. "And the scars? Guess who did that!" Again the indication towards Kaen, "Her again! She tortured me for seven years! And you, _you_ were too fucking oblivious to notice! I was in that detention center every day you were!"

Kaen rolled her eyes and started to walk away, but very slowly. She wanted to hear what Jance had to say.

He noticed and spun, grabbing her and pulling her back. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" he snarled.

"Why should you care? Aren't I just a sadistic freak? Or are you going to kill me now?" her voice was cold, dead.

"I haven't decided what I'm going to do with you...yet."

She pulled out of his grasp. "Go to hell."

"After you." He sneered, catching her by the wrist before turning back to his brother. "And you know what? After you and her got all romantic and had to go on the run, guess who she let have access to my cell!" He paused, "Arbner! And all of his men! And they used me for their sick fantasies. She," he tugged sharply on her wrist, "Didn't do a damn thing about it!"

Memories flooded back and her stomach heaved, though she managed to keep everything in. He owed his life to her - was his animalistic side too blind to see that? She was shaking like mad now, paralyzed by the past.

"Never even care-" he broke off, letting go of Kaen, and shook his head violently. What the hell was he _doing_? She'd tried to help him afterwards and _this_ was how he repaid her? It wasn't right! He sank his teeth into his wrist, he was _not_ about to say anything else to ruin their relationship. He wasn't.

"I hate when people tell the truth about me. And don't bite your wrists - Valen told you not to do that."

He only bit down harder; blood began to flow over his forearm. Why had he let himself lose control like that?

Cyber Errol just stared, did that mean what Jance had been saying was true? Had Kaen really done that?

"And yes," Kaen started towards the way they'd come in, hand dropping to the gun, "Jance was telling the near truth."

"What do you mean by that?" the cyborg demanded, mismatched eyes darting from Kaen to Jance and back.

"Some was true, some was a lie, but all in all it gave a fairly clear picture of what I was hoping I wasn't. Obviously I failed." All she had to do was be out of eyeshot…

He gave her an utterly disgusted look. "I can't believe this."

"Trust me, you should." She had been such a fool! But a fool with around thirty seconds of life remaining. "Hating me is a good idea right about now."

Jance, his normal self back in control looked at her in horror, "What are you planning to do?!"

She laughed, a strangely happy sound. "What I should have done thirteen years ago." The gun, now out of its holster, hung heavily at her side. Why had she put it off for so long? "I just thought the truth should be out first."

"Don't you _dare_. Give me the gun." He demanded, putting out a scarred hand.

She just kept walking, though she did quicken her pace. It was time for the past to die and her along with it. Suddenly she stopped, brought the gun up and pressed the barrel to the side of her head. Time.

"Kaen don't!" Strangely enough it wasn't Jance who'd shouted.

She smiled at her what she assumed was _extremely_ ex-boyfriend. "You and I both know it's for the better." Her finger tightened on the trigger, "Goodbye."

"NO!"

She paused. "Why? Haven't we just gone over _why_ you'd want me dead? Hasn't Jance given you all the facts about how I lied?" She resisted the urge to tack on 'to protect you'.

"I..." the voices screeched at him, why hadn't he killed them yet?

"It doesn't matter now I suppose. Goodbye." She pulled the trigger, hoping that it wouldn't hurt too badly.

"KAEN!" his voice sounded nearly human again and he cried out in anguish.

But she'd panicked and the bullet only grazed her forehead. "Dammit!" she swore, feeling the blood already pouring from the wound. It hurt like holy hell.

He walked over to her, gears whirring, "_Don't_ do that again."

"I'll do whatever the hell I like. No one would care if I shot myself through the head – _no one_. This whole thing has just been a fantasy world I haven't been able to escape. Won't escape."

"I care."

"After what I did to Jance? Don't try to pull that."

"Even after."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why would you choose me, someone who's been deceiving you all along, over your trustworthy, loving brother?"

"Because I still love you."

She turned her face away. "You _can't_, not after I did what I did. You might look like a monster on the outside, but the truly deformed one here is me."

The cyborg snorted, or would have, if it were still possible, "Kaen...I do." There was no way she'd be able to understand how he could choose her again and again, _he_ barely did.

"You can't prove it."

"Kaen..."

"What?"

"I don't know..." He trailed off the voices in his head suddenly shouting at him.

She could feel herself start to shake from repressed emotions. Couldn't he understand that she was doing this for _him_? That she didn't want him to be hurt anymore than he already had? Because of troubles _her_ family had caused?

"Please."

"What?" Kaen forced herself to look up at him, feeling every piece of her heart shatter upon the sight. What'd she give for him to just hold her, tell her everything was going to be alright…

"Come here." Even if he could barely feel her physically, he wanted her near him.

Of course, she did exactly as he asked, stopping within half an inch of him.

He brushed his right hand down her face and knew it wouldn't be enough.

She felt a few tears leak from her eyes at his touch. It hurt _so_ much to be this close, but to be so very, very far.

He wanted to hold her _so_ badly, but...how well would she take an attempt from him now?

She couldn't stand it, couldn't deal with being so far away. Tentatively, she lifted her arms in an obvious gesture of, 'Please pick me up and hold me'.

He needed no further urging, pulling her up on his large left arm and lifting her so they were at eye level with each other. "Better?" he asked.

She nodded, feeling a little bit better.

"Good." He ran his hand down her cheek again. He hadn't missed touch, until now.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." He _still_ missed her.

She touched the cheek of the side of his face that was still flesh. "So all is forgiven between us?"

He gasped..._touch_, a physical sensation. "It is on my end."

"Even about the," she paused, slightly nervous, "The ring?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Why did you get so angry about my wearing it around my neck?"

"I...it was a shock. I didn't think you'd found it. I hadn't wanted you to. It was going to be bad enough with only one of us dealing with the idea of what could've been..." If his voice hadn't been electronically stabilized it would've cracked and broke.

"Could be. Can be. _Will_ be."

"How?"

"I don't know. I'll figure it out."

"Kaen..." she had no clue what it would do to him.

"But you can't stay like this, can you?"

"It's torture."

She nodded slowly. "This is just like Aaric - give us back to each other in a way that just won't work."

He missed his old body, he wanted it back.

She ran her hand down his cheek. Even after all that had happen, it seemed that he still had a firm grasp on her heart.

Just for a minute, his old body, to feel her, hold her. He knew it wasn't happening anytime soon. This was utter agony.

Then something in her snapped - her resolve, perhaps - and Kaen leaned over and kissed him.

And _that_ was just salt in the wound to him. He couldn't return it, not with the split down the middle of his lips.

"Sorry."

"It's alright."

"DAMMIT!" She didn't know what to do, what to feel, what to think!

"What?"

"This… I… It…"

"Try and be coherent sweetheart, it makes understanding you much easier."

She just glared at him.

He nearly smirked.

"You disgust me sometimes." She shook her head in dismay.

"Oh, sorry. In that case, I'll put you down until you can stand me again..." He made a move to set her down.

"Hell no. You do that…" she sighed and shook her head again, "Have you lost your sense of humor?"

"No." He straightened again; he wouldn't have really put her down.

"Oh, okay. I was scared for a second."

"It might not be installed properly, but I do have one."

Kaen grinned. "You're weird even as a cyborg."

"Thanks."

"You're very welcome."

He shifted his grip on her, making sure she wouldn't fall as he stroked her face gently.

"I didn't notice this as much before, but your hands are soft."

"It's only cause you've got metal to compare with." He honestly had no idea if it was right or not, but it seemed logical.

"No… I think it's cause you haven't actually touched me in so long…"

"That too."

She laughed, then kissed his cheek. "Do I feel any softer now? Or am I still my same old self?"

"I..." he couldn't tell. There wasn't enough for him to go on... "I don't know..."

"Well that's comforting. I'll be sure to report to Valen."

"What?"

"That I have lost consistence and can no longer feel touch or be touched."

"Sweetheart, _I'm_ the cyborg. I think you're the same as ever. "

"I hope not."

"Touch wise. It's hard to judge when I'm missing a hell of a lot of nerves."

"But you've got some."

"Not enough." Not nearly enough.

"Maybe not forever, but…"

"But what?" He cast a scowl at his left arm, he hated it.

"I'm being optimistic!"

"Optimism's a waste of time."

"To _you_ maybe."

"Yes to me." He couldn't be optimistic; he couldn't bear to get his hopes up only to have them crushed. He couldn't.

"It's not as if we'll never see each other again!"

"True but…"

"But…?"

"Who knows how long that will be."

"Soon, or else I'll wait for you."

"And if I never die again?"

"Everyone dies."

"Everyone isn't a robot."

"Then I'll still wait for you."

"You could be waiting a long time."

She nodded, "Your point? I'd be better off up there anyways."

"Maybe…"

"You would die eventually, wouldn't you? The Afterlife wouldn't be much of a life if you weren't there."

"See…I don't know that I will. I'm ninety-five percent metal, gears and circuits…" And he was cursing every non-organic inch of himself.

She sighed, "At least you have that five percent."

He rolled his eyes.

"Can't you see the bright side for once? At least that five percent can let you be near me!"

"To me, the bright side is an illusion." He ran his hand down her face again, "You're still too far."

Kaen tried to laugh, but it came out more like a sob. "I'm fighting a losing battle."

"Sorry for bringing you down…" He glanced at the glove covering his right hand and attempted to remove it, with his teeth.

"Here, let me help." She took his hand and pulled the glove off.

"Thanks," his fingers brushed against her cheek.

"'Kay, this is weird."

"How so?"

"I dunno, it just seems weird to me."

He swept a few strands of hair away from her forehead.

"You know, I've come to a conclusion…"

"What?"

"I love you. A lot. More than I would have ever guessed."

"I love you too."

"Good. If you didn't, I might actually kick it."

His fingers twined in her hair as he thought that over.

"Another question: What is your fascination with my hair?"

"It's pretty and I adore it."

She smiled and colored a bit.

"I also like it when you blush like that."

"How long has that been going on?"

"Years." He couldn't remember when it had started.

"Oh." Her blush became darker, "You're not playing fair."

"Sure I am."

"Whenever you tell me you like my blush or that I'm blushing, it gets worse. Way worse."

"Why do you think I do it?"

"Because you're you?"

"Yeah pretty much."

"Wow…you amaze me."

"I know."

"Why do you _always _respond like that?!"

"Because I can."

"One day, you _will_ respond differently."

"Fine. One day."

"Thank you love."

"Anytime sweetheart."

Her lips brushed his cheek, "You know, if you keep calling me that, I might actually believe you one day."

"Good, it's true."

"No it's not. I'm a cold-hearted bitch."

"Not to me."

"Well, you're crazy."

"This is news to you?"

"No, not really. In fact, you're almost as mad as you."

"We can be nuts together."

"Certainly. I pity this city."

He sighed, "Not that it'll really be around much longer…"

"Yeah…about that…"

"Yeah…?"

"If you destroy my city, I'll have to murder you."

"Good luck with - " the voices in his head abruptly returned and he cringed at the sudden mental assault.

"What's wrong?" Kaen had noticed his sudden cringe.

"Umm…"

"Spit it out."

"Orders from above?"

"Voices in your head?"

"Yeah. They're not too pleased at the moment."

"Well, they can go die in a hole. Are they from Aaric?"

"No. At least, I don't think so…" he shuddered, "Unless he and Arbner have some sort of 'blow up the planet' scheme going on together."

"Arbner…" she hissed, feeling more hate than she ever had before. "He did this?"

"Yeah."

"That bastard?"

He cringed again, "Shut up…" he snarled under his breath.

"Me or the voices?"

"Voices."

"Okay. Should I leave?"

"I don't want you to." He was about to add more when he gasped, wincing. They knew how to torture him.

"Erol? What's wrong?"

"You need to go." Even the stabilizer couldn't hide the strain in his voice.

"What's going on?"

His mind was reeling; the voices were showing their displeasure and were managing to send him into agony. "Kaen…you _need_ to go."

"I _can't _go."

"I'll end up killing you if you stay."

"I'm sitting several feet in the air genius."

"Oh right…" he set her down.

"Thanks. I have one more question…"

"Sure, but make it quick." There was only one way to rid himself of the voices and orders.

"Can I wear the ring?"

He nodded, "On one condition."

"Yeah?"

"Would you have said 'yes'?" He needed the confirmation.

"Of course I would have said yes! I still say it! I will always say it!"

"Then the ring's yours, do whatever you want with it." He turned and headed for a computer console.

Kaen took the ring from her pocket and slid it onto her finger. "Jance, we have to go."

"I'd gathered," he'd been watching silently the whole time, flipping a pick over his fingers. "Let's go."

The cyborg finished at his computer panel and alarms suddenly blared all around them. "You have ten minutes." Ten minutes to oblivion and freedom. He'd activated the self destruct sequence.

She nodded, "We'll go. Love you."

"Love you too."

Jance rolled his eyes and grabbed Kaen's wrist, "Let's go."

"Yep." She began to run for the door. If Aaric kept his promises, Erol would be back soon. The idea filled her with a new emotion: hope.


	31. Chapter Thirty

Second last installment in the series. Kaen, Cayden, Jance, Valen, Aaric, Arbner, Ripp, Leeta, Faine and his family belong to us. Knives are mine. Everything else is Naughty Dog's.

Enjoy!

* * *

But her optimism began to die out after a week and a half. It didn't look like he was coming back. How could it have happened? Who had been the cause? Aaric or Arbner? Or someone else?

She didn't have very much time to ponder this, because there were more important things at hand. Such as the political uproar Erol's actions had caused. There was an upside to the extremely hard work however – she had had to work a lot with Ashelin and the pair was getting along fabulously.

Ashelin sighed. "You mind if we cut the politics for a while?" she asked Kaen.

"Sure, is you'd like. We _have_ been at it for eight hours."

"What? Eight hours. God…"

"Yesterday we worked for ten."

"That's true."

Kaen stretched and stood up. "It's four o'clock in the afternoon, I can still watch over the drug shipment."

"Don't you ever stop working?"

"No. I can't." It hurt too much.

"So are we calling it a day then?"

"I guess – I suppose you need to try to stop the shipment before it's distributed."

Ashelin sighed, "I'm supposed to anyway." She stood. "I think I've been working too much…"

"Then take a break!"

The Governess sighed again, "I don't know…"

"Maybe you could go make sure Torn doesn't ruin my business again."

"I don't think he will. He seems…preoccupied with something. And he's very edgy whenever I try to ask about it. I have no idea what's gotten into him."

Kaen grinned. "That gives me a new occupation… I shall go."

Ashelin rolled her eyes. "I don't know how well he'll take you pestering him."

"I won't, but Ripp will."

"Oh dear. Well if either of you figure it out, I'd love to know."

"I can only imagine. See you." And Kaen left, already whipping out her phone as she did so.

Ashelin watched the other woman go, wondering what she was planning.

"Let's find out…" Kaen punched the number for Ripp's cell phone into her own. "Pick up, pick up!"

"Hello?"

"Ripp? I have a job for you."

"Alright. What kind of job."

"An odd one."

"Right? So what is it?"

"I need you to go and talk to Torn."

"I'm not seeing the job here."

"He's acting odd towards Ashelin. Find out why."

"He's acting weird to everyone."

"Find out for me!"

"Alright, alright, I will."

"Thank you Ripp, you're the best."

"Just one question before I go."

"Indeed?"

"Why are you interested in Torn all of a sudden? I thought you hated him!"

"Ashelin's my friend. Plus, I'm intrigued."

"Fine. I'll see if I can get him to talk."

"Again, you're the best." She snapped the phone shut.

--

Ripp put his phone away. He had some investigating to do.

--

Erol paced around, what was taking Aaric so long to send him back? He was beginning to wonder if he would ever make it back.

"Good morning you little snot!"

He spun around, "Hey you scheming git."

Aaric was sitting on the ground, eating an apple. "You know, your ex-best friend will be getting married soon…"

"What?!"

"Yes, to that girl."

"Torn and Ashelin?"

He nodded. "A week from now I believe."

"Why exactly are you bringing this up?"

"Your fiancée will be the maid of honor."

"Good for her."

"She'll be extremely depressed."

Erol sighed. "That doesn't surprise me. What's your point?"

"Do you like parties Erol?"

"I don't mind them. _What_ are you getting at?!"

"My, Erol, you are a gem. I'm offering you a chance to go back!"

"Are you going to turn me into a cyborg again?"

"No, there is something you must do that requires a normal body." Aaric stood up and smiled proudly, "Kaen does not yet have an heir!"

"Hang on. You're sending me back to knock her up and then die again?"

"EROL! HOW DARE YOU?!"

"Hey that's just what you made it sound like!" he put his hands up defensively, "I have no problem with not dying again."

"I'm half tempted _not_ to send you back now! Perhaps I _should_ let Arbner or one of her brothers take your place as husband and father of her children…"

Erol's eyes widened. "You wouldn't, would you?"

"If you're being crude, yes! Eryk would make a fine father!"

"Sorry…"

Aaric sighed, "Sometimes I wonder how much you love her…"

"I love her more than I thought was possible to love someone."

"You can't love the unlovable," a new voice cut in. It was silky, slimy and evil, very evil.

Erol whipped around, "You!" he snapped.

It was Faine, handsome and dangerous. Beside him stood a beautiful woman and two small children. Kaen's murdered family. "So you're the fool that thinks he loves the creature…" the man said softly.

"And you're the bastard who attempted to ruin my life."

"Your mother deserved what she got. She was so," he licked his lips, "_beautiful_."

The woman beside him giggled. "He showed me pictures – the slummer woman was gorgeous. But not as gorgeous as me."

"You sick bastard…"

"It's who I am. I see things as they truly are. Your mother _was_ stunning, your father _was_ a fool, your fiancée _is_ a worthless monster… I could go on."

Erol glared at Faine, utter loathing in every bone in his body. If he wasn't dead already, Erol would have killed him. He couldn't stand to have _anyone_ slam those closest to him.

"But they do not matter. What I came here for was to give you a warning. Should you go back and marry the _freak_, which is useless since she can't be loved, go wander down her hallway. Then you will see the light and kill her."

"Keep dreaming."

"I can't – I'm dead." He laughed, "Slummers aren't meant to rule, even if they have to marry an animal to do it. You are a fool."

"And you're a coward."

"She was going to be killed the next day! She was out of control! I was going to kill her like she deserved, like I should have done years before! But no, she killed us first!"

His wife giggled again. "I, like, can't believe she killed us!"

"You really chose the wrong sister to marry, didn't you?"

"My other sister was a weird one, I loved my twin more."

Erol gagged. "That's just _beyond_ sick."

"No worse than slummer scum breeding – like animals in the sewer."

"No better than being a blue-blooded, incestuous pig."

"Yet you are in love with one…" Faine mused.

Erol shrugged.

Faine smiled coldly, then turned his attention to his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. "I take my leave. Even a thing like Kaen deserves more. The monster has lowered herself to a slummer. Disgusting…"

Aaric bowed. "In peace."

"In peace." The other family proceeded to melt away – literally.

"Alright, that's just _weird_."

"They are near gods too. But now that they are gone… You _do_ want to go back to her, correct?"

"Of course."

"And you _swear_ you will not get her pregnant _before_ you're married?"

"I swear."

"You're _positive_ you want to go back and leave death behind?"

"Yes."

"Then consider yourself alive. You will find yourself in your house with an invitation that has, at least to their knowledge, not been printed. You will have full bank access and a week to get ready. If you fail to win her heart that night – and no sooner – you will die once again. Understood?"

He nodded, why did this feel like Praxis giving him a mission? "Understood sir."

"Don't call me sir, it makes me feel old." The man chuckled. "You're a gem Erol, you really are a gem." Then, with a pat on the shoulder, Aaric sent his possible grandson back.

--

"I'd rather if you didn't leave the house at all until I'm well," Cayden insisted from his bed. Kaen, bored with work, had decided to go visit her food-poisoned bodyguard.

"I'll be fine Cayden," she said soothingly. "And so will you!"

"But-"

"Just…" Her phone rang. "Just second." She flipped her phone open, "Hello?"

"Hey Kaen. God Torn can be tightlipped when he wants to be!"

"That's nothing new to me. What'd you find out?"

"Okay, look at your _left_ hand. What do you see?"

She looked – there was nothing but the ring. "My ring."

"Exactly."

"Not following."

He sighed, "What kind of ring is it?"

"An…well, you couldn't really call it a normal engagement ring…"

"For my purposes, it is."

"Torn's going to propose to Ashelin?!"

"Yep."

"Wow…"

"Torn and Ashelin? Getting hitched? When?"

"Yeah… When?"

"Well nothing final yet. Since he hasn't asked yet, but _he's_ thinking it'll be a fast wedding, less chance for the media to get a good hold on it. Possibly within the week, if he can actually get over his nerves."

"Impatient, aren't they? Right, well tell him to hurry up. Ashelin's getting worried."

"Yeah, I will. Did I hear Cayden a moment ago?"

"Yes, yes you did." She glared at the big man, "Lay back down!"

"Fine, fine," he grumbled and fell backwards.

"Tell him to get better. I'm getting tired of not seeing Leeta."

"You can come over whether Cayden's ill or not. And Leeta misses you too. Horribly."

"Yeah, I'll probably drop by later."

"Fine. Thanks for the heads up." She shut her phone.

"You are _not_ going to a wedding."

"Stuff it Cayden," she snapped. Despite her small excitement, the idea of a wedding still cut her deep.

--

Torn knew that he'd have to do it soon. Really soon. He managed a weak grin as Ashelin walked into the room. "Hey."

She walked over and slipped an arm around his shoulders, "What's up with you?"

His hand went into his pocket, feeling the box he had there, "Nothing," he paused, hardening his resolve, "You want to go out tonight?"

--

Kaen, who was extremely tired from a day of hard work, was just getting ready for bed when her phone rang. "Hello?" she said, picking it up.

"You and me. We're going shopping. Now."

"Er… Why? It's nine at night Ashelin!"

"Now."

"Why?"

"Torn proposed to me!"

"Finally…" Kaen sighed. "Okay, I'll come. See you soon."

"Good."

So Kaen went shopping with Ashelin – mostly to shut her up, it was true, but she went. It was eleven o'clock before they got to the bride's maid dressed. Or, in this case, Kaen's dress.

"How about this one?" Ashelin said, it sounded like a question but it wasn't really.

"Hell no." They'd argued over several dresses since entering the store, but Ashelin seemed dead set on that particular one. Low cut, extremely tight, red with black lace and the skirt only went down mid-thigh. It was her worst nightmare. "I'll look like a hooker…"She sighed, "But it is _your_ wedding…" It wasn't the fact it was on the skimpier side that made Kaen cringe, but how the dress would make people look at her. _Guys_ in particular. Ever since the whole Arbner incident, she'd been very jumpy around most of the male gender.

Ashelin rolled her eyes, "You think letting someone see up to your elbows will make you look like a hooker. It won't kill you to show some skin."

"You sure about that?" She looked doubtfully at the dress.

"Yes I'm sure."

"Do you _really_ want me to wear it?"

"Just try it on; I'll decide when I see it on you."

Kaen sighed, grabbed the dress and headed into the nearest dressing room. The dress itself, if it was longer, would be one of the prettiest in the store. She took a good ten minutes before she came out to show Ashelin. "Happy?"

She gave Kaen an appraising look, "I think so."

"So this is the one?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I'll go change again and we can buy it. How many more days until this wedding of yours again?"

"Seven."

"Thought so," she sighed, then went back into the room to change back into her nice, _covering_ clothes. It wasn't that she was opposed to the dress, but more the fear of being stared at. She was quite relieved when she came out and could hand Ashelin the dress.

"Don't worry about. No one's going to stare at you. Torn and I will have most, if not all, of the attention."

"Thank god." She forced her mind away from the bride and groom together. From the looks of things, that fate would never be hers and she'd better get used to it.

Ashelin put a hand on her shoulder.

"What?"

"You look depressed."

"It's nothing, just a very bad memory."

"It's about Erol, isn't it?"

Kaen bit her lower lip. "Yeah. It is."

"I'm sorry."

"It's nothing." The ache in her heart was back. "Let's just concentrate on you, 'kay?"

"Alright."

Kaen attempted to smile and was pleased when it didn't turn out like a grimace. "Then let's go pay for this thing."

"Yeah, come on."

--

Erol gasped, feeling life return to him, it was much less painful this time around. He looked at his hands, both flesh and blood, that was a good sign. He ran a hand quickly over his face, no metal. Aaric had kept his promise.

His eyes darted around, he was in his apartment, just as Aaric had said, and nothing had been touched. It was rather strange now that he thought about it; he'd been gone for nearly five months. Then again, there weren't many people who'd want to go through his stuff. He spied an envelope that had definitely not been in his apartment before and picked it up. A smirk crossed his face.

A week. Just as Aaric had said... It would be ample time to plan this out carefully...


	32. Chapter Thirty One

Alright, so here we are. The conclusion to this story. But before you go and get TOO upset over it, there is something you should know, this is not the end. It continues on in the sequel that is currently being written. So, now that you know that little fact the normal stuff shall continue as usual.

Erol, Torn, and Ashelin belong to Naughty Dog. Jance, Kaen, Valen, Ripp, Leeta, Cayden, and Aaric are ours. Knives are mine. Now that all that's out of the way...

Enjoy!

* * *

The week passed quickly and in practically no time it was the big day for Torn and Ashelin.

Jance walked over to Kaen, "Hey," he wasn't properly dressed yet.

"Hey." She, on the other hand, was ready to go and was not happy at all about it. "You're not ready yet."

"Nah, it'll take all of five minutes." He flicked his hand in a noncommittal gesture.

"You astound me. I've been attacked by every servant under the sun for the past four hours…" She shook her head. "I'll be glad when this is over."

"I was thinking..."

"A dangerous thing. Continue."

He smirked, "Since we're both in the wedding party, we're required to have an escort, correct? Do you have one yet?"

"Not yet. Is this an invitation?"

"Yes."

She smiled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I should probably go get ready now. So...see you in a while I guess..."

"Yeah." Kaen managed another grin, it was getting easier.

He gave her a nod before heading back the way he'd come.

She turned away, heart breaking. It could have been her, _should_ have been her. And now… Gone, as if it never existed.

--

Ripp leaned against the doorframe looking in at Leeta and her brother, "You ready to go yet?" He felt extremely out of place, a tuxedo was definitely _not_ something he was accustomed to wearing.

"I am," Leeta said, getting up from the chair she'd been sitting in. Her brother was still completely bedridden. "I'm afraid to say Cayden is staying here."

Her brother growled a few swears in her direction before he settled down in his bed to sulk.

"Cheer up Cayden, it's not that bad."

"You're not trying to watch over two girls that you can't even see! You _will_ keep an eye on Kaen, won't you Ripp?"

"Of course."

The man closed his eyes. "Then go and have fun. I'll be here when you get back."

Leeta smiled at her brother, "Don't sulk." She turned to her boyfriend. "Let's go!"

Ripp grinned at her and held out his hand.

She took it happily. One day it'd be her.

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"We're going to be late Ripp!" she laughed, "We must go now!"

"I know, I know." And he led her out of the room.

--

Valen stood by his window, staring blankly at the outside world. He was happy for the couple, but he couldn't help but to be worried for her Ladyship. What would become of her that night?

--

Erol stood in his bathroom, looking at himself, debating. If he covered the tattoos, he'd be unrecognizable, which would be good and bad. Most likely it'd just end up being a problem for him. For a moment he doubted himself, but forced the thought from his mind, if he didn't do this, he'd die again, and there was no way Aaric would be bringing him back again. He focused on Kaen, on his objective.

--

Kaen looked over herself once more, deciding that, after the wedding was over, she'd kill Ashelin for making her wearing such a dress. She twisted the ring on her finger nervously, before leaving her room and heading down the stairs. It was time.

Jance looked up as she came down. He'd styled his hair to hide the scars as best he could and it was driving him insane. He managed a forced smile, "Someone looks nice."

"I look like I'm about to work the streets," she said irritably, glaring at the dress for the thousandth time that day.

"Well, if you are, you're the prettiest hooker I ever saw."

She smiled. "Why thank you. I feel complimented."

He grinned, "Anytime."

"Shall we go then?"

"I believe we shall."

"I hope this turns out well," she said to him as the limo pulled up in front of the manor.

"It will. I know it will."

The wedding wasn't anything special - not big, overly fancy or well publicized. Torn looked like he might vomit during most of the ceremony, which Kaen couldn't help but find amusing. It was only at 'I do' part of the wedding did she begin to feel the hatred. If she could have, she would have left right then, but she couldn't. So she toughed her way through the last bit of the wedding.

Once the wedding was over - including the demeaning hugging as people left - Kaen wasted nearly no time getting out of there. The reception would be only an hour after the wedding and, despite her early opinion; it was beginning to sound like a nightmare.

Jance followed her out, "Kaen? You doing okay?" He asked.

"Not really." There was no point lying about it. "The reception is going to kill me."

He shook his hair out of his face, "It'll be alright, you can just hang around on the fringes with me if you want."

"I think I need to be alone, though I do thank you." She twisted her ring nervously. "It'll be fine."

He nodded, "Okay, but if you need another social reject, you'll know where to find me."

"Thanks," she said, barely managing to smile this time. It was hurting too much.

He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's nearly over. You're almost through this."

She nodded. "We better get up to the party; we are part of the wedding party after all."

"Yes...yes we are." With an irritated sigh he shook his hair back into its former position.

She patted his shoulder. "It's nearly over. You're almost through this."

"Don't use my lines back at me!" But he was smiling behind the annoyance.

"I'll do whatever I please. Now, let's go!" She poked him in the arm; then headed towards the Hall where the reception would be taking place.

He followed her, hoping that this would be over soon...

--

Erol had stayed pretty much out of sight during the ceremony and he hung back during the reception. He'd have to wait for the opportune moment. It didn't take him long to spot Kaen and it took more self control than Erol knew he possessed to not just run over to her.

He waited, knowing she'd distance herself from everyone. He was counting on it.

Kaen was extremely grateful that there would be no forced dancing, which was customary at most weddings. She was free to go to the back of the room and sit down where she was out of eye - and earshot. As she walked and sat, she tried to ignore the eyes that followed her every movement. She was off limits, thank you very much.

Erol smirked, he hadn't been disappointed and he began to head in her general direction.

The ring was slowly wearing away her skin as she twisted it back and forth. Why couldn't Aaric just send Erol back?

He slipped around behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. He'd seen her playing with the ring, she was thinking about him...

She stiffened at his touch. Someone was hugging her? Who was that insane?

He said nothing, wondering if she'd figure it out or if she'd think he was just Jance trying to make her feel better.

"Who the hell are you and why are you hugging me?" She knew this dress would be the death of her…

"Take a wild guess," he whispered softly in her ear.

It sounded like… The very idea froze her on the spot.

"Something wrong?"

"Who the hell are you?" she repeated.

"I'm still waiting for you to guess."

"One of the random guys in the room that have been staring at me all night?"

"Not quite."

"Why does that not make me feel any better…?"

"I'm hardly random," she obviously needed a hint, "Sweetheart."

She stopped breathing completely. "This isn't funny whoever you are." It couldn't be… She twisted the ring more rapidly now.

"I'm hurt."

"This isn't funny" She was shaking now, heart nearly exploding from the anguish of it all. Whoever was behind her was about to have his throat slit.

"You didn't really think Aaric would keep you waiting forever, did you?"

"It can't be…"

"Can't it?"

"Unless this is a horrible dream, no."

"Ouch."

She stood up, trying to straighten the dress, but there simply wasn't enough material to make it work. "An extremely horrible dream."

"And I thought you said you wouldn't change your mind. I think I'm going to need that ring back..."

She grabbed her hand. "No…" How did this person know about the ring? She was tempted to turn around, but didn't.

"Kaen..."

"Stop it!" She wanted it to be him so bad… "He's dead. He's _dead_."

"Turn around, would you?"

She did so, but kept her eyes on the ground. It _couldn't_ be…

"For the love of god..." he reached out about to tilt her head up to look at him, but instead decided on something else. He hadn't been wearing gloves all night and he waved his right hand in front of her, either of the scars should tip her off. Very few people knew about them...

It hurt too much, but she wanted it to be true. His hand had the scars… She could only hope… "You're dead."

"Not anymore."

And then, because she had a sudden burst of bravery, Kaen looked up into the face of her previously dead fiancé. "Erol…"

"Kaen."

It was too good to be true. "What are you doing here?"

"Finding you. And watching one of my childhood friends get married."

She laughed, but it didn't come out very well. She hadn't truly laughed in weeks.

"Is that the best you can do?"

"That is the first time I've really laughed in an _extremely_ long time!"

"So that's a yes then?" He shook his head in false dismay, "What will I ever do with you?"

She shrugged. "Toss me into a ditch?"

"No, I don't think so. I was thinking more along the lines of completing something we started."

"What did we start?" Kaen wasn't paying complete attention - his being there had become slightly distracting.

He took her left hand in his, brushing his lips over her fingers, "What do you think?"

She blushed. "Oh. That."

"Yes. That. All we need is the license..."

It was all a rush in her head, but the word 'license' stood out. "There's a registration office not far from here… And I'm positive we've got those types of papers at the manor…"

"So what do you say? Want to just get it over with?"

"I… Give me a second for my head to sort everything out. It's gone into overdrive."

"Fine. Take as long as you need."

She took at least two minutes. He was back, they were going to randomly get married, he was back… "Okay, my world's stabilized. Fine, sure, whatever. Where to?"

"I don't know, should I go reintroduce myself to my brother, or should we just go get married?"

"Your choice." She mostly wanted him to herself, but…it would sound weirdly possessive…

Erol grinned and kissed her, "Let's go do what we probably should've done a long time ago."

She smiled and kissed him back. "Fine. The actual office or the manor?"

"I think the actual office, it's closer."

"Okay," she said, nodding. "We better go before Jance, Valen or Ripp sees us."

But it was already too late. Jance had spotted them. He walked purposefully over and grabbed Erol by the back of the shirt, slamming him up against the wall.

"Jance!" Well, Kaen thought, that was awkward…

"Who the hell are you?" Jance demanded harshly.

"Jance, it's me."

"There's _no way_ that you can prove that it's you."

"It's him Jance, I swear it."

"How do you know?"

"My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather promised to send him back."

"I want _proof_."

Erol put up his hands defensively, "Cool it Pick-Flip."

"Pick-Flip?!"

Jance twitched, "I told you not to call me that!"

"Yeah right, Pick-Flip."

"Erol…"

"Now are you convinced?"

"Yes…twerp…" Jance glared at his brother before letting him go.

Kaen couldn't help but smile; they really were an odd set of siblings.

"Thanks Pick-Flip."

"Knock it off Grease Monkey."

Erol glared. "_Now_ you're just being immature."

"You're both being immature."

Jance grinned at her, Erol shrugged.

She shook her head. "I have half a mind to leave you two to bicker and go talk to Valen instead."

"Don't bother. We're done. Aren't we?" Erol asked Jance.

"If you want to continue, continue by all means. Me and Val haven't talked all day and I know he's even more depressed than me." She turned to leave.

"I haven't talked to Val for months."

Jance rolled his eyes, "And to think we spoke only this morning…"

"You have counselling this morning or was he just warning you about me?"

"Both."

"You go to counselling?!"

"Shove it Erol."

"I thought you _listened_ to your brother's story!" The memory still made her stomach hurt.

"I did. But he never mentioned _counselling_…"

"Well, it did him good I think. How his willingness to allow me to express my emotion on his face is still intact, I'll never know."

"World's greatest mystery." Jance smirked, but it came out as more of a grimace. His hair was driving him _nuts_.

"You have no idea. Anyway, your brother was the cause of most of those scars, so I can't _really_ blame myself." She paused. "And you can put your hair back to the way it usually is."

"Thank god!" He shook his head, completely messing up his hair.

Erol looked at Kaen, "_I_ caused that? How does that work?"

"Let me show you. Jance, can you come over here?"

He obediently moved over to her.

"Can you show your brother your neck?"

"Sure." He pulled down his shirt collar, clearly displaying the number four and hangman there.

"First day we met – I didn't take it well. There was a game of x's-and-o's on his forearm too and he still has the words 'stay still' on his cheek.

"Later I stabbed through his foot and made a few more hangmen here and there. The last thing I did was those," she pointed at the hearts. "That's when I admitted to myself that I loved you."

Jance nodded. "It would've been funny if it hadn't hurt."

"What about his hands?"

She bit her lip. "Arbner's men did that – I left his hands alone!"

"She did. Everything that happened to my hands was Arbner."

"I'll say it again, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Jance pulled out a guitar pick and began to flip it over his fingers.

Erol smirked, "Pick-Flip."

"I'm going away now." Kaen walked away, looking for anybody to talk to.

Erol followed her, catching up and slipping an arm around her.

The world suddenly seemed very safe and secure. It was if nothing had ever happened.

"I can't believe you let Ashelin put you in this dress."

"It _is_ her wedding… It's horrid…"

He kissed her cheek. "It's pretty, if not a bit more revealing than what you usually wear."

"I look like a hooker."

"No you don't. You're far too covered for that."

"For me I do. I hate when guys follow me with their eyes."

"So are you saying you don't like me looking at you?"

"_You_ are different, you aren't thinking like they are…I hope."

"And if I am?"

"I suppose I'll love you anyway," she sighed.

He kissed her, "I'm glad."

She kissed him back. "I'm beginning to think we should go through with our plan."

"Only beginning?" his lips pressed to her neck.

"I got sidetracked for a moment!"

"It's alright," he pulled her close.

She kissed him. "Well that's good. Shall we go?"

"I believe we shall."

"You're going to have to let go of me again."

"Dang…" he slipped his arms from her, letting his fingers linger over her rarely exposed skin.

She glanced around; no one had seen them but Jance. "It's only a block down and the door isn't well locked."

"Let's go."

So they went, but someone did notice their leaving. The World Monitor was bound to be interesting the next day.

--

The office _was_ near and the door _was_ easily opened, both to Kaen's joy. The outside was freezing and she didn't exactly have a lot of clothing on – for her. "We're here!" she announced through badly concealed chattering teeth.

"Yes we are," Erol said, slipping off his jacket and gently placing it around her shoulders.

"Thank you." Beautiful, sweet warmth. "Let's go find the stuff. It shouldn't be too hard…"

Erol nodded and looked around.

Kaen went to the filing cabinet to start her search. Within a few seconds she'd found it, the marriage certificate. It was surprisingly plain for something that would legally create such a union. "I've found it!"

"Nice." He took a pen from a nearby desk.

She pulled it out and placed it on the table. "This is it."

"It is. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be. You sign first."

He scrawled his signature on the paper before passing the pen and paper to her. "Your turn."

She copied him and then forged the two witnesses' signatures. It was making her head swirl. Married? It seemed impossible!

"So now we're married…"

"I guess so. My world just shifted again."

He smiled and put his arms around her. "Is that a good shift?"

"I think so, I'm pretty sure of it. Isn't this the part where you kiss the bride?"

He did, lips pressing up against hers.

She kissed him back. Impossible! Had she done what was right? Yes, yes she had. What could go wrong?

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He kissed her forehead and one hand went to tangle in her hair. They'd just gotten married. The concept seemed so strange…

"I'm tired." She yawned, "You've sent me on another emotional rollercoaster."

"Sorry. Do you want to go home?"

"It's not your fault – in a bad way that is." She kissed him. "But yes, home sounds nice. Which one?"

"What do you mean?"

"Depends on how far you want to walk."

"I don't feel like going far…"

"Well, there's your apartment and one of my houses isn't far away."

"Let's go to your place."

"Okay. I'll file this away and then we can leave." She slipped away from him and placed the paper in another cabinet, one for _signed_ documents. Then she returned to him. "Time to go I guess."

He nodded. "Alright, come on, let's go."

"We better leave." She headed out the door, head fuzzy.

Erol followed her, slipping an arm around her again.

Kaen locked the door behind them, then proceeded to curl up closer to her…husband? "That's that."

"Yes it is." His lips brushed her neck. "Cayden's going to die when he finds out."

"Well good for Cayden." She yawned again.

"Come on, you're tired, let's go."

"It's only three blocks away. C'mon." She started walking.

He fell into step beside her, taking her hand in his.

She squeezed his hand, then led him down several streets before reaching a small manor. Home.

He looked up at it. "Nice," he commented.

"It's not much to look at, but it'll work." She went up the small flight of stairs leading to the front door and unlocked it with the other manor's key. The door swung open to reveal what most people would call a gorgeous home, but Kaen found it only adequate. "Coming in?"

"Of course," he glanced around, the house was stunning, nothing compared to Kaen's main house, but his apartment had nothing on _this_ place.

"Well, I'm about ready to head up to the room…"

"Yeah, me too…"

She took his hand again. "Let's go find it, shall we?"

He nodded, feeling like he's just forgotten something. He gave her hand and squeeze, feeling the engagement ring on her finger and remembered what it was. "Hang on, I've got something." The wedding bands…

"What?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out two gold rings. "These."

"Oh." The rings… It was another world shifting moment.

"Here," he slipped off her engagement ring and slid the band onto her finger before replacing the engagement one.

"It's beautiful…" She stared at her ring, then grinned. "Now for you. I suspect you'll have to take off your glove."

"You're took used to me, but…" he held out his left hand, "I'm not wearing one at the moment."

"_You're_ not wearing gloves? What did Aaric do to you?" She took the ring and slid it onto his finger.

Erol laughed and looked at his hand, it was strange seeing a ring there.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You astound me."

He smirked, "I know." He pulled her close and kissed her.

She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

His lips brushed lightly against her neck.

Kaen pulled him closer, tightening her hold on him.

He nipped gently at the base of her neck, teeth just pulling at her skin.

"You're not being fair," she whispered in his ear.

"Sure I am," he replied, going after her neck again.

At that moment, Kaen was quite sure that if Aaric had the choice, he would have demolished them both out of spite. "No you're not."

"How so?"

"You're driving me insane – it's simply not fair."

He offered no verbal reply, kissing her again.

She glared at him, but it was only half-hearted. For some reason, the feeling of being watched had crept into her mind.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel like we're being watched."

"That's weird, should we take this elsewhere?"

"I'd suggest so."

He nodded and pulled away. "Why don't we go find the master bedroom?"

"Beautiful idea."

Outside the house, Valen smiled evilly. This Monitor would be amazing.

It didn't take long to find the bedroom. Erol looked at it, "Nice."

"It is. Quite."

He smirked and kissed her.

She kissed him back, pulling him close as she did.

"Kaen…" he murmured, lips meeting everywhere they could.

"Yeah?" His coat slipped from her shoulders and fell to the floor.

He gave no reply, unable to come up with one. He bit the nape of her neck, not hard enough to hurt her or really leave a mark. He was losing control of himself.

She knew where this was going; he had more or less lost control of himself. But that was okay – so had she.


End file.
